Ninja Storm: Hurricane Power (REDONE)
by BookPaige54
Summary: Ever imagine if 4 rangers were late to the Ninja Academy instead of 3? Ever wonder if a student could wield two elements instead of one? Well, this is what could've happened. Meet Dani, the White Hurricane Ranger.
1. Prelude to a Storm

A/N: So.

It's been like forever. A lot of you have been asking for a continuation of this story, and due to life just happening, I haven't been able to update. And I apologize. But now I'm in college, and despite my room at home looking like a total nightmare, I actually have more control over my life. Something I haven't had in a while.

So, I got on the site to say I'm redoing the story! With some edits, more dialogue, and maybe a different pairing with Dani? Idk. Let me know in the reviews! Hope you all love the story more than you did before! Thanks for all you've done for this story in the past, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to finish it.

Please read and review! And let me know how I can make it better, or if you have any ideas on who to pair my OC with! XOXO

-Paige

Disclaimer: I own Dani Oliver alone, and Power Rangers does not belong to me. Sadly.

Chapter 1. Prelude to a Storm

Surfer Tori Hanson came out of the water with her board and checked her watch. _Perfect,_ she thought. _Right on schedule._ She grabbed her beach stuff and headed towards her big, blue van and headed to downtown Blue Bay Harbor.

"Got it!" Danielle "Dani" Oliver screamed as she dove for the volleyball. Her teammate set it up, and she pounded the ball into the sand. Both girls grinned from ear to ear as they high-fived each other. Suddenly, Dani's watch beeped. She frowned. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll see you later!" She grabbed her clothes and hopped on her bike towards downtown. The other girl stared at her, mystified.

Everyone watched in awe as Shane Clarke landed one of his best tricks yet on his skateboard. Applause erupted from the skate park. Shane's friend grinned from ear to ear as he went to greet him. "Hey, that was awesome dude!"

"Yeah!" Shane agreed. "Finally hit that backflip, man!" He, too was beaming.

"Wanna hit the new rail?" the other boy asked.

Shane checked the time on his friend's watch, eyes growing wide. "No I can't, man! I got to get to class!"

The boy looked at him, confused. "Class?"

Shane shook his head. "Uh, never mind, man. Catch ya later, bro!" he exclaimed as he took off in the other direction.

Kelly Holloway watched the motocross racer she was sponsoring cross the finish line. She stopped the clock. "Not bad," she thought to herself. As the racer came to her, she said, "Lap times are about two seconds off."

Waldo "Dustin" Brooks sighed. "Yeah, I know! My bike's bogging on that uphill!" He paused for a moment, then realized something. "Oh, what time is it?!" He grabbed Kelly's watch.

"Five after," she replied. "Why?"

He dropped his bike on Kelly. "Oh, man! I am SO busted." Dustin ran off to take his gear off. "Dustin!" His sponsor and boss called after him. "Where are you going?"

"I'll call you later, okay?" He signaled. "I gotta go!"

Tori parked her van in the usual spot. The first, as always, was Dani. "Hey, Tor," she grinned as she hopped into the backseat..

"Hey yourself," Tori replied cheerfully and looked for the other two. She frowned. "Where are they?"

Shane, however, crept behind the van and snuck up on Tori. "BOO!" he screamed. "Miss me?"

"Dream on," Tori laughed as he hopped into the passenger seat. "Where's Dustin?"

"There," Dani pointed out.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Last as usual," she muttered.

"Aw, man," Shane sighed. When Dustin finally got to the van, he somersaulted into the front seat and the four were on their way.

"How can you guys be late every single time?" Tori eventually asked. "I can't pull that off if I actually planned it!"

Shane smirked. "Maybe that's because you're the reliable one."

Tori looked at her friend weirdly. "What does that mean, 'the reliable one'?"

"Look," Shane said calmly. "In any group, there are different kinds of people." "Totally true," Dustin agreed. "Think about.. umm.. Like the power rangers!" He said with a grin.

"Power rangers?" Tori scoffed. "You've gotta be joking."

"Dustin, it is kinda far-fetched," Dani told the racer.

"No," Dustin said. "Okay, you've got your fun loving weirdos." He looked at the brunette.

Dani laughed. "I'm confused, are you talking about you?"

Dustin shook his head. "No, 'cause I'm like the mellow, reflective dude."

"And then there's the risk taker," Shane added. "The adrenaline guy. That would, of course, be me."

He fixed his hair in the mirror. "Yeah right," Dustin laughed. "And you, Tori, you're just the logical one!

"You guys have to lay off the comic books," Tori replied. "Seriously. Power rangers. Whatever!"

The van came to a stop off a forest. The four teens went inside. "This place always creeps me out," Dustin said.

"I heard that, bro," Shane replied.

Dani took this chance to make fun of the boys. "Aww, are Dustin and Shane scawed of a spooky ooky fowest?" she said in a mocking tone.

"Seriously," Tori chimed in. "You guys are so lame!" The boys glared at the girls before heading on their way.

After about ten minutes of walking, the teens reached a waterfall. "It sure is quiet out here," Shane noted. "A little too quiet."

Suddenly, something zoomed by in a blur. "Did you see that?" Dani asked the others. Before they could respond, the blur knocked them down. The blur turned out to be twelve ninjas wearing color streaked uniforms. As the four got up, they removed their street clothes to reveal the same uniforms. They split up, fighting a share of the ninjas.

Tori ran across the lake from her attackers. She ran on top of the water. Her attackers followed her. When she paused, the ninjas stopped to see what she was going to do next. Suddenly, Tori lost her balance and landed in the lake beneath her.

Dani fought her share physically. Her hand-to-hand skills weren't as bad as she remembered. When she found herself surrounded, she flew up to a top of a tree and tried to hit her opponents with water. Unfortunately, she missed the branch she was supposed to land on and fell to the ground with a thud.

Dustin fought off his attackers as Dani did, until some of the ninjas went underground. "Not good!" Dustin yelled, waiting for the ninjas to attack him again. And attack they did. Dustin tried to do the same thing, but managed to get stuck in the middle of the ground.

Shane flipped away from the three ninjas attacking him. One of his opponents hopped in the air and started walking across it towards Shane. Shane smirked and did the same towards his attacker. When they grew close enough, the other ninja hit him in the air, and Shane came tumbling down.

The four teenagers were a mess. Shane's uniform was torn, Dustin was covered in dirt, Tori was drenched, and Dani's back hit the ground hard. Her hair wasn't pretty either. Then, a falcon swooped down, transforming into the teens' sensei. "That's enough for today," he said to the twelve. As soon as they came, they left. Sensei walked up to the four. "Tori, Shane, Dustin, Danielle, I am very disappointed. I will expect a visit from you, so we may discuss your lack of commitment to your ninja training.

The sensei made a portal appear at the waterfall and walked through it. Dustin smiled. "Well that wasn't so bad, huh?" Dustin said cheerfully. The other three glared at him and walked on through the portal. "What?" Dustin called after them. "It wasn't!"

Through the portal was the Wind Ninja academy, a training school against evil that might occur. Dustin smiled. "I'll tell you what. You guys can blame it all on me."

"Don't worry," Tori snapped. "We will."

When the four got to their sensei, they discussed their tardiness. "You have been students at the Wind Ninja Academy for nearly a year, and yet you fail to see the importance of punctuality," Sensei said. "I would suggest you find a way to change that before you return tomorrow. Otherwise I will have no choice but to expel you."

The teens eyes widened. "No!" Dani yelled.

"You can't!" Shane protested.

"You all have great potential," Sensei replied. "It would be a shame to waste it. Now go, you must have other studies." Shamefully, the students bowed to their sensei and left.

"Danielle, wait," Sensei called. The brunette girl walked back to her teacher. "How is your training going?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Good, for the most part," came her reply. "I need to practice my landing and my aim, but I think I've got most of it down. Why do you ask, Sensei?"

He looked at her. "You are the only student I've had to control two elements," he told her. "I want to make sure your Air training is caught up with your Water training as well. So far, you are keeping up nicely." He smiled. "Now just come on time."

Dani smiled back. "Yes, Sensei." She bowed respectfully and left peacefully.

As the conversation ended, Sensei Watanabe's son Cameron walked up behind his father. "I don't know why you put up with them," he said.

Sensei smiled. "Well then, Cameron," he replied. "I suppose that's why I'm the sensei and you're the sensei's son."

Suddenly, a dark cloud formed ahead of the two. Sensei looked up, sensing nothing but danger. His son looked at him curiously."What's wrong, Dad?"

The next day, at a little shop called Storm Chargers, Dustin was working in the back, making sure he had the right time. Tori and Shane were watching a small TV in the corner while Dani was bumping a volleyball. Shane watched in awe as the skater on the screen flipped his board.

"Kickflip 250-50," Shane said. "That's what I gotta learn for my video!"

Suddenly, the clock's alarm went off, and the four were up and ready to go. "Dustin!" Tori called.

"Yo, heads up!" Dustin yelled as he tossed a dirty rag to his boss.

"Dustin!" Kelly sighed. "You're not gonna leave me here to clean up shop!"

The brunette boy paused, smiling cheesily at his boss. "Have I ever told you what a cool boss you are?" He ran off, saying, "Bye Kelly!"

Back at the academy, Sensei was meditating in the garden, wondering what this dark cloud could possibly mean. Then it hit him. "Lothor!" he said in self-realization, getting up and running to the academy. He was cut off when a man in a black uniform and mask appeared in front of him, followed by his henchmen. "The dark energy is strong in you!" the Sensei said calmly.

"It's had time to grow," the man said.

"It has been a while," Sensei replied.

"Armies take time," the man known as Lothor stated. "And now is the time for revenge! Zurgane, proceed!"

"As you wish sir," the alien to Lothor's right said. The army disappeared before their eyes.

"It doesn't have to be this way!" Sensei sighed.

"Why would now be any different?" Lothor asked. Suddenly, he fired a blast of energy at the sensei, who barely dodged it. The blast hit the statue behind him, and the two went at it.

The ninjas training in the field away from the garden stopped what they were doing as the explosion went off. Then, Lothor's henchmen reappeared at the training area. The students formed a fighting position. "Kelzaks!" a woman called Kapri yelled. Suddenly, lots of black, ugly alien minions appeared in front of the four. Just as they had been trained to do, the ninjas started fighting the kelzaks. Explosions came from everywhere as the fight went on.

Both fights weren't going too well on the Academy's side. Sensei was merely defending himself as Lothor was attacking with everything he had in him. The kelzaks were holding up the ninjas, even killing a few here and there. When the students were too busy to notice anyone else but the kelzaks, the one called Zurgane yelled, "Now Choobo!" .

The green alien opened up his backpack, and giant spheres came out of it, trapping the ninjas."Up! Up! And AWAY!" Choobo said gleefully as the balls flew up into the sky. Even the school building was trapped, and Lothor threw his final sphere before making a getaway.

As the four headed down the road in Tori's van, Dani checked the time. "Are we on time?" Dustin asked.

"We're early," Dani replied. But when Tori drove past an elderly couple with engine problems, Tori decided they would help them.

After they did, Dustin thought for a moment. "Hey, what if his alarm clock didn't go off and he doesn't even miss us?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "He's a ninja master, Dustin. They don't oversleep."

"Really?" Dani scoffed. "And I'm the weird one?" Suddenly, her cell phone went off deep inside her bag. "Where's the stupid thingamadoosh?" she exclaimed as she searched for the device.

When she found it, Dustin Looked at her. "Thingamadoosh?"

She glared at him. "Touche."

When the four students stepped through the portal, a huge spiral of wind was taking the school. "What's going on?" Dustin asked as they walked towards it.

"Something's attacking the school!" Shane exclaimed.

"Really Shane? I thought this was normal," Dani remarked. Soon enough, they were knocked to the ground and the great Wind Ninja Academy was gone.

"It's gone!" Shane whispered as they got back to their feet.

"Again with the obvious statements, Shane?" Dani scowled, shaking in fear and shame .

Dustin thought. "Okay... I'm thinking.. Earthquake."

"Earthquake?" Dani scoffed. "Dustin, when was the last time earthquakes sucked buildings into the sky? Unless we're upside down, and the sky is really the ground and the ground is really the sky..." Everyone stared at her. "Or not!"

The teens walked through the ruins of their ninja school. "Who would do something like this?" Tori asked.

"Are we the only students left?" Dustin pondered.

Suddenly, a boy emerged from a pile of rocks. "It's Cam!" Shane yelled. "Help me get him out!" The four ninjas reached the teacher's son and pulled him out of the rocks. When he finally got out, they looked at him. "You alright?" Shane asked.

"I'm fine," Cam replied.

"You don't look fine," Dani told him. "Look, your ankle's swollen."

"I'll be alright," Cam said reassuringly.

A laser beam hit the ground near where they were standing. When the laser hit again, the five ran and tried to take cover. Cam led them to a trapdoor and opened it. Once inside, Shane asked. "What is this place?"

"Just follow me," Cam told them abruptly. When they came to a stop, he put his hand on a scanner and the room appeared to be some sort of underground tech base. The other four marveled in wonder at their surroundings. "Don't ask any questions because I can't answer them," Cam stated.

Shane smirked. "What, this is like some big secret?"

"Yes, Shane, it's like some big secret," Cam snapped.

"And there are times when secrets must be revealed, Cam," a familiar voice rang. A cart rolled into view and there stood a guinea pig. No sensei, no higher ninja, just a guinea pig in a sensei's clothes.

"Whoa, that big rat sounds just like Sensei," Shane said.

"I betcha it is," Dani muttered. "And it's a guinea pig."

"Yeah, it doesn't really look like him though, huh?" Dustin replied, walking closer. "Except for the clothes."

"My father is not a rat," Cam said defensively. "He's a guinea pig."

"BOOM!" Dani yelled proudly. The five around her stared. "I told you so."

"Dude," Dustin breathed. "Did he just explain why and I just missed it?"

"He's stuck," Cam told them."

"Stuck?" Shane repeated.

"Yes, Shane, stuck. Observe." Sensei the guinea pig flipped onto a computer desk. A monitor appeared and a picture of an odd-looking man came on the screen.

"This is Lothor," he started. "Once a great ninja, he was banished from the earth when his hunger for power turned him to the dark side. When our energy fields collided, I was transformed into what you see before you. Now he has returned and had brought an army that would do everything to take our planet for their own. Unless they are stopped-"

"Who is going to be dumb enough to try and stop them?" Dustin interrupted. "An excellent question Dustin,"

Sensei replied. "The morphers, Cam."

"Father, you're not serious!" Cam exclaimed.

"We have no choice," his father replied. "But these guys? I mean, them? They're.. Well they're..."

"We're, what?" Tori questioned.

"We're immature, unqualified, pathetic, untrained.." Dani listed. "That what you were gonna say, Cam?"

"Yeah, I don't like the way that sounded," Shane agreed. "Do you?"

he asked, turning to the earth student. "Actually, dude, I'm kinda lost here," replied Dustin.

"Cam, we can do more than you think," Dani reminded him.

"Now, Cam," Sensei enforced. His son sighed and went to the back to get something.

When he returned, he held a circular box. When Cam opened them, he said, "These are your Power Ranger Wind morphers."

The teens' eyes widened at the mention of Power Rangers, especially Dustin. Four morphers were in the box: one red, one blue, one yellow, and one white. Dustin grinned from ear to ear. "Yes! See, I knew it dude! I was right! Power Rangers are real!"

Each of them picked up a morpher according to the color on their uniform.

"Whatever," Tori breathed.

"No way," Shane said.

"This can't be real," Dani gasped. Once they strapped the devices to their wrists, Sensei turned to each one of them.

"Dustin, child of the earth, true to your heart, you will embody the powers of the Yellow Wind Ranger,"

"Tori, fluid and graceful like the water, you will become the Blue Wind Ranger."

"Shane, reaching for the stars, you will command the powers of the Red Wind Ranger."

"Dani, powerful like a hurricane, you will possess the powers of the White Wind Ranger."

"From this point, you will be known as the Wind Power Rangers, protectors of the earth."

When Sensei had finished, all sorts of questions emerged from the new rangers. "So, what exactly does this thing do?" "Where's the switch?" "Does it have games?" "Is there like some sort of code?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Cam smirked. "The defenders of the galaxy."

Suddenly, the monitor beeped. "Quickly! Lothor's army is attacking!" Sensei said, interrupting the students' questions. "You must intercept them. Call on your powers by saying 'Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!'" The four nodded and headed on their way to their first battle as Power Rangers.

"Keep your eyes open," the monster snapped as he and his army of kelzaks searched the ground.

Suddenly, a voice called, "HEY! Looking for us?" Four students appeared at the top of a cliff. As the new rangers got ready for battle, they already forgot their morph code. Well, two did.

Dustin and Dani rolled their eyes as Shane and Tori confused themselves. "Dude, watch and learn," Dustin smirked. "Ready Dani?"

"You know it," the other brunette smiled.

"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM, HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

When the two finished, they were in brightly colored suits. Yellow smiled inside his suit. "Oh YEAH BABY!" He screamed in his own excitement.

"I gotta admit," White said. "This is sweet." She looked to the two, unmorphed rangers. "You two waiting for an invitation?" Shane and Tori looked at each other and nodded.

"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM, HA!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

There were now four morphed rangers, spandex and all. They headed into battle with new swords and weapons. The alien monster and his army of Kelzaks were no match. Shane's Hawk blaster, Tori's Sonic Fin, Dustin's Lion Hammer, and Dani's Swan Staff combined to make the perfect weapon to defeat the enemy, the Storm Striker, and the rangers claimed victory.

After it was over, the rangers' masks removed to reveal their faces. "That really just happened, right?" Shane asked, unsure of himself.

"I'm pretty sure it did," Tori replied.

"Pinching myself now," Dani remarked. She yelped. "Yep. It happened."

"Now, that.. was.. AWESOME!" Dustin yelled in delight as he high fived his fellow rangers. They celebrated their first Ranger Victory, ready for more.

The Rangers celebrated all the way back to Ninja Ops. "Ha! I told you there were Power Rangers!" Dustin exclaimed to his teammates, helmet in hands. "But you're like, 'No, that's urban legend!'"

"Hey, that was Tori!" Shane told him.

"That was me, but Danielle here was no help!" Tori remarked.

"I never denied it, I just said it was far-fetched!" White said defensively.

"Whatever," Blue teased her teammate.

"You did well this time rangers," Sensei said, proud of his new team. "But understand that there will be more battles in the future. Lothor will not rest until the earth is completely under his command, or until he is destroyed. The earth is in your hands, Power Rangers."


	2. There is No I in Team

A/N: Yay, second chapter up in the same day! Hopefully I won't be as crappy at updating this time! The chapters that I'm simply rewriting will go on within a few weeks, and after that, I will hopefully be updating weekly or biweekly! Thanks for reading! As always,

review! XOXO

-Paige

DISCLAIMER: I own Dani alone. Power Rangers are not mine. Unfortunately.

Chapter 2: There is No I in Team

"C'mon, you guys!" Shane said as he pulled on the bonds between him and his fellow teammates.

"Ow! Shane!" Tori four were in a desert, looking for a scroll Sensei sent them for. It was only a simulation, but the bonds were very real.

"This could take all day," Shane muttered, ignoring the whines of his teammates. He was focused on the goal, thinking he could do it himself.

"Shane, can you stop pulling so hard?" Dani asked with a hint of a whine in her voice. "My wrists already hurt from volleyball."

"Mine's totally tweaked!" Tori cried.

"Sorry, guys," Shane muttered. "It'd be so much faster if we could just split up!"

"Not to mention less painful," Tori added.

"Maybe Sensei wants us to work together," Dani suggested.

Dustin took Dani's idea for a half of a second before remembering how much he was in pain. "Whatever, this scroll of four-thing better be worth it, man. These cuffs are brutal!"

"Sensei wouldn't have sent us if it weren't important," Shane reminded the earth student. "It's gotta be here somewhere!"

He pulled on the other three again, resulting in a unison "OW."

"What kind of scroll are we talking about?" Dustin asked.

"Oh, you know, the kind made of paper," Dani rolled her eyes.

Dustin sighed. "You know, if we weren't cuffed together, I'd probably hit you for that." He was cuffed between Shane and Dani, leaving him completely bound."

"I'm thinking if we see a scroll anywhere around here, that's probably it," Tori told him.

Dani's eyes scanned the desert until they locked on a floating object with the number 4 printed onto it. "I FOUND IT!" She yelled.

"Okay, there's one," Dustin said as he, too, saw the scroll.

"I found it first," Dani muttered.

Shane took off in a sprint, with the three dragging and shouting behind him. When they got to it, Tori pointed out, "Wait, it says something." " _Stronger as one than four,"_ Shane read.

Dustin sighed yet again. "That's it? We'd be better off buying fortune cookies!"

"Great, now I'm hungry on top of sore," Dani complained.

"Let's just grab it and bail," Tori told the others.

"I'll get it!" Shane announced. As he went to get it, though, he forgot that he was attached to the others still and his jump was a complete fail, leaving all of them face down in the sand.

"Who's on my foot?" Dustin exclaimed. "Shane!"

"That was so not effective," Tori groaned.

"You don't say?" Dani asked sarcastically.

"I'll do this myself," Shane grumbled as he got up.

Suddenly, Kelzaks surrounded the four rangers. "Uhh.. Kelzak! Party of eleven!" Dustin said, wondering how in the world they'd fight like this.

The Kelzaks started attacking while the rangers tried to fight. Emphasis on the word tried. Shane kept pulling them every which way, attempting to fight off the Kelzaks himself. His stubbornness resulting in many trips, falls, and ows. Finally, the minions broke the bonds that were holding the rangers together.

"Stay here, I'll get the scroll!" Shane told them. He was so focused on getting it that he forgot about his teammates, who were being defeated by the Kelzaks. The three were surrounded and abandoned by Shane. He froze. "Tori! Dustin! Dani! NO!"

The desert around them disappeared, as well as the Kelzaks, and the four were back in Ninja Ops. "I had it," Shane again grumbled.

"Simulation over," Cam said to the rangers. "Well, that was below average," he told them. "Thanks for the encouragement, Cam," Dani said with much sarcasm.

"No problem. It'll be on the mainframe if you want to relive any of it." He walked off.

"Rangers," Sensei said, shaking his small head. "You are lucky this is only a simulation." "Sensei, why can't we get this right?" Blue asked the guinea pig. "Why do we keep failing?"

"That is for you to figure out," he replied. "Tomorrow we will try again." He flipped away from the rangers.

Dani, Dustin and Tori walked to the exit. "Wait, where are you guys going?" Shane asked.

"Home, man," Dustin replied.

"No way!" Red told them. "Not til we get this right!"

"Sensei said we'd try again tomorrow," Tori said calmly.

"Yeah, and besides," Dani added. "I have to work on my hurricane training."

"And dude, if I don't sleep, tomorrow's just going to be another replay of today," Dustin remarked.

"Look, that's why we gotta keep practicing until you guys get it right!"

The three others gave Shane a glare. "Until WE get it right?!" Tori asked sharply.

Shane realized what he said and cursed under his breath. "Look, that's not what I meant."

"Oh, we KNOW what you meant," Tori snapped as she and Dustin started to leave.

Shane caught them by the arm. "This is not ninja school anymore," He told them. "This is the real deal, and if you're not willing to focus on what's important then-"

"Dude," Dustin interrupted, peeved at the air student for not only being a prick now, but for being a prick and not working with them earlier. "If you think you can do a better job by yourself, then just go for it, man." "Maybe I will!" Shane snapped.

"Fine!" Tori replied. "Later, man," Dustin mumbled as the two left ninja ops. Shane looked to Dani, who just waved him goodbye. He groaned and went out the opposite way

Dani was practicing on harnessing her air powers for three hours straight. She had several bruises on her legs from trying-and failing- to fly. She was damp from trying to use her air powers while running on water. Her aim for shooting blasts of air and water was not the best either. It also didn't help she was conditioning nonstop for her volleyball tournament in Angel Grove as well. After her seventeenth fall, she didn't bother getting up. She was tired, angry, and sore.

For the last half hour, Cam stood there, watching the hurricane ninja attempt to train. After that half hour, she finally noticed the boy in green. "Come to tell me what else I'm doing wrong, Cameron?"

He sighed. "Dan, take a breather. You've been practicing ever since Shane huffed off." He looked around. "And it's getting dark."

"I can't get behind," Dani replied, rolling over to face the son of the Sensei. "I have two elements to master. And more training will help us for that simulation tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, but it's going on 8:00," Cam replied, looking at the ninja. "And if you don't stop, you won't be able to do the simulation tomorrow, much less volleyball." Dani started to make a rebuttal, but he added "You may be a power ranger, but you're putting a lot on yourself. Especially for a sixteen year-old."

She groaned. "Why must you remind me I'm the youngest?"

"Because you're my best friend, and I want you to be able to function like yourself."

She sighed. She couldn't really win against him. He was one of the only people reminding her she was still just a girl and couldn't carry the weight of the world by herself. "Can you do me a favor then, Cam?"

He smiled at her. "Name it."

She grinned. "Carry me?

He laughed. If it was what he had to do to get her to stop working herself so hard, then he'd do it. He swooped her up bridal style. She cringed at the pain from her sore muscles, but gave the boy a grateful smile. She didn't know what she would do without him. And frankly, Cam felt the same way.

The brunette fell asleep in his arms on the way back to ops, so he lay her on a cot in ops, contacted her uncle she was staying with, and left her to sleep in peace.

Dani woke to her usual alarm on her phone. She was surprised at her surroundings, but grateful to Cam for taking care of her.

Later that day, she went for a run while Cam was working on a project. "Just can't get this one piece to fit," he grumbled. "If I could just find a way to harness more power from the hydraulic systems."

"Some kinds of power cannot be found in a computer," Sensei told his son. Cam frowned. "What other kind is there?" He asked.

Before Sensei could answer, Dustin, Tori, and Dani walked in. He minimized his project before asking them "Where's Shane?"

Dustin shrugged. "I don't know, single-handedly saving the world."

"I guess it's nice being a one man army," Tori added with a sigh.

"Especially if you aren't chained to anyone," Dani muttered, still not completely healed from the day before."

"Each piece has it's place," Sensei told them. "Shane will learn, but you must help him."

"That's the problem, he won't let us help," Tori replied.

"He will," Sensei promised. "Give him time."

Shane, however was taking a load off by doing his favorite thing- skateboarding. Little did he know that Kapri and her sister Marah, were watching the area. The two nieces of Lothor were made fun of by being stuck together (literally) by one of Lothor's new alien monsters. Marah spotted Shane. "Wasn't that a power ranger?"

Kapri rolled her eyes. "Ya think?" she asked her ignorantly. "C'mon."

The brunette took out the Personal Alien Manager, which summoned aliens and detected rangers, and scanned the skater. "I was right!" She said, proud of herself. "It's definitely a ranger."

"Oh yeah?" her sister snapped. "And what do we do when we see a ranger? Huh?" She elbowed her. "C'mon!"

"Don't rush me!" Marah shouted, preparing to send some Kelzaks to attack the people. "Command, shift, send, there!"

Shane skated to Storm Chargers and sat there, spinning the wheels on his skateboard. Kelly realized something was wrong with him the moment she saw him. He sighed and got down from where he was sitting. "Hey, Kelly, you're a good boss, right?" he asked her.

She thought about it. "No one's ever quit on me."

"So.. how do you do it? What's the trick?"

The redhead smiled at him. "There's no trick. Just work with them, give 'em a chance. We're more like, teammates, y'know?"

"Yeah, but how can you be sure things won't get messed up if you don't do them yourself?" Shane questioned.

"I trust the people around me. Especially my friends." Shane nodded and put some thought into it. Had he really given the team a chance?

Suddenly, screams of "Put me down!" came from outside. "What was that?" Kelly asked, looking through the window. People and metal objects flew in the same direction.

"Stay here," he told her. "I'll check."

People flew to form a pyramid that turned to stone before Shane's eyes. He found the culprit- a magnetic monster. He took a fighting stance. "So what's up with this?" He asked coldly.

"I say, I think I'm lost," the monster replied. "Could you tell me where I might find the power rangers' HQ?"

"Get off!" Kapri shouted, shuffling with Marah behind the Ranger's back. "He's a ranger, get him!" She ordered the alien.

"I thought he looked familiar," the monster replied. "Take that!" He flung a whole bunch of metal towards him. Shane dodged every bit except a metal plate that was lodged near his stomach. "This is fun!" the monster smirked. "Think your little playmates have the metal to join us?"

"I can take you myself, tin man!" Shane shouted as he chucked the top back at the monster.

"Ya think so, do ya?" The monster sent another blast at him, and he dodged it too. What he didn't dodge is a pile of metal flung at him.

Something came on Cam's screen back at Ninja Ops. "What's up, Cam?" Tori asked as the three rangers walked towards the monitor.

"It's Shane," he told them. "Some weird magnet head thing. I hacked into the police surveillance when I saw the power readings were off the charts."

"Hacked?" Dani asked. "Cam, please don't get arrested."

He smirked. "You should know I'm smarter than that."

"We better help him," Tori said. The two others nodded and headed toward the exit.

"Wait!" Sensei called, causing the ninjas' feet to stop. "I will let you know when it is time. The rangers stood there, confused at why he didn't let them go.

Meanwhile, Shane was fighting a losing battle alone. He kicked, punched,and hit, but the magnet monster stood standing. It smirked at the ranger. "Well?"

Shane had enough.

"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM, HA! POWER OF AIR!"

Soon enough, he was in his red uniform. "Get ready to be recycled," he told the metal head.

"What's the matter, ranger? Your friends not sticking with you?"

"Told you I don't need 'em!"

"Have it your way," the monster told him.

"I always do!" Shane cried. The Magnetic monster hit Red with his beam, and suddenly, he was dragged toward a car, with metal on top of him.

He was now a human magnet. "Attractive," the monster smirked.

Shane cursed under his breath. His friends were just trying to work with him. And he was not helping them or the current situation. He was being crushed. "I can't handle this alone!" Shane finally admitted. "Tori, Dani, Dustin, I need your help!"

"Your friends aren't coming!" the monster taunted.

The three other rangers' eyes widened as they watched the footage. "Now?" Dustin asked.

"Now," Sensei replied.

"Let's do it," Tori said to the other two, who nodded and took their stance.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

The three of them streaked to where their teammate was. They kicked the monster out of the way before Shane was crushed anymore.

"Shane!" Dani cried, relieved that he wasn't killed.

"You okay?" Tori asked as the metal fell off him.

"Yeah, fine now!" Shane replied.

The four removed their masks. Shane smiled at the sight of his teammates. "You guys came!"

"Of course we came," Tori smiled.

"You may be a hard-headed idiot, but you're our teammate, and most importantly, our friend," Dani told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I can't believe I was such a jerk," Shane said, ashamed.

"Oh, I totally can!" Dustin replied, which earned him a punch from Tori. He laughed. "I'm just bustin on you, bro, okay?" he said with a smile as he high fived the red ranger.

"We know you're great at this stuff," Tori said with a calm voice. "Just don't forget you're not alone."

"I know," Shane agreed, smiling. "And right now, you don't know how glad I am about that."

The monster finally got the metal off of him and turned to the rangers, who put their masks on once again. "Pardon me, but I haven't finished destroying you yet!" The monster told them.

"Oh yeah?"

"Think again!"

"Dream on!"

"You're toast!"

"New plan!" Shane yelled. "Ninja air assault!" he cried as he walked across the air.

"Why isn't mine good like that?" Dani muttered as she kicked the magnet head down with her teammates. The four of them put together the Storm Striker and blew the magnet head away. The ranger's high-fived each other and celebrated another victory.

"We did it!" Dustin exclaimed happily.

"Together," Shane agreed. "Like it's supposed to be."

"Stop pushing me!" Marah screamed as the two were struggling to get near the rangers, but not be seen.

Kapri grabbed the Personal Alien Manager out of her sister's hands. She pressed a few buttons, saying "Scroll of empowerment, descend!"

Out of nowhere, the magnet monster reappeared in front of the rangers. Only, this time, he was taller than the Sears Tower. "Bigger is better!" he sneered. Marah laughed with delight, but Kapri shut her up.

"No way!" the rangers cried, frowning inside their helmets.

"What are you gonna do, you pathetic ninja rangers?!" he told them.

"Looks like you put on a few," Shane retorted.

"You might wanna try cutting out carbs," Dustin joked.

"LOOK OUT!" Tori cried as the monster was about to step on the four. They somersaulted out of danger.

"Now, we're in trouble," Shane sight.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Really? Thought he was about to save our lives by doing that."

Shane looked at her. "Are you gonna stop being so sarcastic?"

"Not as long as you keep stating the obvious," she quipped.

Cam sighed back at Ninja Ops. "The program still isn't sequencing," he said. "I don't think they can handle it!"

"They're ready, Cam," his father told him. "Send the Zords."

Cam stretched. "Alright," he agreed finally. "Just another few seconds to access the holographic portals, and there! I got it!" He pressed a button and contacted the rangers.

" _Rangers, listen closely,"_ he started. " _Hidden in a subterranean hanger are four powerful, robotic vehicles. Now that Lothor's raised the stakes, we have no choice but to call upon them. Guys, I'm sending you some big time back up! The Hawk Zord, the Dolphin Zord, the Lion Zord, and the Swan Zord. They've been materialized through holographic portals, and I've adapted them to operate under your command by using your inner ninja powers of air, water, earth, and hurricane. The Zords are equipped with an arsenal of state-of-the-art weaponry that you can access by using the power disks on your morphers. I'll be sending you new power disks as you master each skill level."_

"The Hawk Zord's all mine!" Shane said happily.

"No, idiot, it was painted red for me, obviously," Dani retorted.

Cam ignored her comment and said, " _That's right, Shane, you pilot the Hawk Zord."_

" _Tori, use your power of water to command the Dolphin Zord."_

"Well, that makes sense," Tori thought out loud.

" _Dustin, you'll have control over the mighty Lion Zord,"_ Cam told the yellow ranger.

"That's massive, dude!" Dustin said in awe.

Finally, Cam talked to the white ranger" _And Dani, you'll possess the power to control the Swan Zord."_ "I'm not as graceful as one, but alright!" Dani laughed.

The rangers watched the Zords, awestruck, before finally getting into them. Shane's Zord caught the magnet on fire, Tori put him out with a tidal wave, Dustin blew him away-literally- and Dani caught him off guard in her water spin attack. When he wouldn't stop, they formed a new plan. Dustin's zord turned into the main part of the robot's body, Tori was the left arm, Shane came as the head, and Dani formed a helmet and arm shields. Together, the Storm Megazord was formed, and the Power Rangers claimed victory.

Back at Ops, the four watched as Cam sat at the monitor. He sighed with relief as the pyramids of metal returned to people. "All the people are back to normal."

"We get Zords, huh?" Dustin exclaimed. "How stoked am I!" The three agreed and wowed over their giant animal robotic vehicles.

However, Sensei said, "They are not toys, Dustin. As ninjas, you should know to never escalate a battle."

Dustin nodded. "That's cool with me, man."

"Now that you have learned to work as one," Sensei continued, "the balance of power will always be on your side." The guinea pig used his staff to put the final piece into his jigsaw puzzle. The four laughed as they looked at the puzzle, which was their Storm Megazord.


	3. Beauty and the Beach

**A/N: Hey All! Chapter 3 is up! Thanks to all who have reviewed the story so far and are following it and me. You guys rock. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Keep those reviews coming!**

 **XOXO**

 **-Paige**

 **DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Power Rangers. I own Dani alone.**

Chapter 3, Beauty and the Beach

Tori Hanson walked out of the water with her board, feeling pretty confident on her performance. When she was walking towards Shane, she saw he was talking to a guy- a super hot surfer guy. Then he got a sad expression on his face and left the Air student in a fist bump.

"What was that all about?" Tori asked her friend.

Shane shrugged. "Some guy that couldn't stop talking about you, how cute you are, how he wanted your phone number."

Tori's eyes widened. "Whoa whoa whoa, stop. Rewind. Super cute surfer hottie was asking about me?"

Red laughed. "Man, it was so lame!"

Blue glared and punched his shoulder. "And you let him leave?!" She walked off with her board.

Shane winced. "Dude, what was that for?"

"Did you ever think that I'd wanna meet him? See if he wanted to hang out sometime?"

A familiar brunette jumped on Shane's back. "HEYY!" Shane sighed.

"Hey." Dani frowned and hopped off his back. "Alright, who's pissed who off?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "There was a super hot surfer, he asked about me, and Shane let him leave!"

"Bad move, my friend," Dani told him before slapping him upside the head.

Shane moved his hand to the new spot of pain. "Ow! You're kidding, right?" Tori glared at him once more before taking off again. "What's wrong?" Shane asked, unaware of what he did.

"This is further proof that you're a complete doofus!" She yelled, storming off. "I gotta meet Dustin."

Shane stood there, a confused look on his face. "What is with her?"

Dani laughed. "Shane, we're girls, not books. You can't always read us, and you can't judge us by the cover." She checked her watch, realizing she had to leave. "I have to help Kelly, so see ya!" She sprinted off the beach, leaving the Red Ninja more confused than ever.

Little did the rangers know that they had unwanted company. Hidden on a hill, Kapri looked into her binoculars while Marah watched the three from a distance, her eyes locked upon Shane. "Oh, let's go for him," she said dreamily.

Kapri rolled her eyes at her sister. "Stick to the plan, Marah, it's gotta be blue."

"I know, just look at her!" Marah sneered. "So perky and athletic. I just wanna bury her up to her neck in sand."

Kapri scoffed. "First you'd have to learn how to learn a hole."

Marah tried to grab the binoculars from the pink haired girl, but failed. "Never, EVER, grab. We clear?"

"Sorry," Marah frowned.

"Just remember who's running things around here, Marah," Kapri snapped. "And nobody gets hurt."

Tori walked into Storm Chargers for new surf shorts when her yellow friend greeted her at the counter. "Hey, dude," Dustin said. "Y'know, Shane thinks you're mad at him."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Wow, I guess that's why he gets the red suit."

Dustin crinkled his nose in confusion. "What happened? It didn't sound like a big deal to me."

"You don't get it either. I'm a girl. GIRL."

The boys were still oblivious. "Yeah, but you're not like a girl-girl," Dustin told the blonde.

"You're like a guy-girl," Shane yelled from the background. Tori gave them a look of disbelief, not wanting believe she heard what she did.

Kelly and Dani walked in, the brunette trying to hold in a laugh. "My advice to you both?" Kelly said to them. "Stop trying to make it better, 'cause it's only getting worse."

"Yeah," Dani chimed in. "The best way to make up with your friend is NOT by calling her a he-she, Shane."

Shane realized what he had said and smacked his forehead. Kelly shook her head and turned to Tori. "This just showed up for you," she told her, handing her an envelope.

"That's weird," Tori noted, wondering why people would send her mail here of all places. "From where?"

"Don't know, just found it out back," the redhead replied.

As Tori was opening the envelope, the boys peeked over the blue ninja's shoulder. Shane asked, "What's it say?"

"Girl sport magazine saw me surfing and want me for a photoshoot. An article about 'Beauties of the Beach.'"

Shane turned to Dustin. "Isn't that the one where they have like these incredibly gorgeous girls?"

Tori turned around, sneering at the two. "Yeah, so?" The two boys looked at each other.

Dani glared at them. "Idiots," she mouthed.

Dustin was smart enough to grab Shane before he said anything else.

"Okay, we'll just go back to silent mode now." He smacked Shane and the two left.

Tori turned back to the two girls. "You gonna do it?" Kelly asked.

Tori shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just surprised they didn't send this to Dani instead."

The brunette shook her head. "No way, Tor. If anyone should be 'Beauty of the Beach,' it's you."

The blonde girl sighed. "I wanna show them that I'm not some dopey tomboy."

"Hope that's a good enough reason," Kelly smiled. "Thanks for helping me, Dani," she added as she left to take care of customers.

"No prob, Kel," Dani replied.

Tori turned to her teammate. "You think I should do it?" she asked.

Dani thought about it. "I think it'd be pretty awesome," she started, "but if you're really that uncertain about it, maybe a certain guinea pig could help you. C'mon, I'm due for training anyway."

As the two girls left, Dustin was shaking his head at Shane. "Dude, you called her a he-she!"

-NS-

Tori and Dani walked into Ninja Ops. "Hey," Cam said to the girls.

"Hey yourself," Dani replied casually. "I'm gonna get started." She turned to the blonde. "Good luck," she said as she walked out.

Tori knelt at the table Sensei was sitting on. "Sensei, can I talk to you about something?"

"What is it?" he asked the water ninja.

When she explained her dilemma, she asked, "Is that a good enough reason to do the photoshoot, Sensei?" Sensei pondered this.

"A ninja's power flows through them from deep within their being," Sensei replied. "This inner strength can help you in all situations."

Tori smiled and shook her head. "You're no help, you know that?"

"There's a difference between helping someone and deciding for them," the guinea pig told her. Tori got up, still shaking her head, and left ops.

As she left, Cam sighed and stretched. "I feel like I've been writing code for the past three weeks," he told his father. "I think I'm getting blisters."

"Your effort is admirable, son," Sensei replied, "I have a terrible feeling we will need it." Cam nodded, yawned, and decided to check on Dani.

Dani was perfectly controlling some water when Cam came into where she was training. She put the water back in the river gently, and no mess was made. "You're getting better," Cam smiled.

"Well, I haven't made a mudslide yet," she smirked, "so I guess that's a start." Next, she jumped into the air, took a few steps, and gracefully landed on her two feet.

Cam went to high-five his friend. "Very nice!"

She beamed. "Thank you very much!" She said, bowing before laughing at herself. " To be honest, I forgot what landing properly felt like."

Tori looked at the letter from Girl Sport. Then she looked at the RV in front of her. "Is this the right place?" she wondered as she continued to the vehicle.

What the blonde didn't know is that she had two spies- rangers to be exact- watching her from a distance. The navy ranger frowned inside his mask. "This waiting is getting old," he said to his fellow ranger.

"Chill," Crismon replied. "We have to do this right."

"With you bro," the navy replied as the two streaked off together.

Meanwhile, by the RV, Tori was still confused. "Hello? Anybody here?" The door opened to reveal two hideously-dressed girls, one with pink hair, one with brown.

"Hello!" the brunette said as they walked over to Tori.

"Hi, I'm Tori," the water ninja introduced herself.

"My, aren't you... ordinary?" The brunette frowned. "Let's see if we can do something about that."

Minutes later, Tori came out in a terrible wardrobe and hairstyle to match. However, the workers seemed to be pleased. "Perfect!" The brunette squealed.

Tori shook her head. "This is so not me," she told the two.

The woman with pink hair rolled her eyes.

"We've seen what's you, okay? Now you just.." she rushed the blonde in front of the camera, or so-called camera. "Smile for the camera, alright? Perfect." The pink girl had a device in her hand, with an inscription on the back:

" _If found, please return to Lothor."_

Tori smirked. "I thought I recognized you two. Bad hair, bad clothes, too much makeup."

"Do you really think it's too much?" the brunette revealing to be Marah asked. "I mean-"

"MARAH!" Kapri screamed. She pressed a button on her PAM. "KELZAKS!" As they were summoned, Tori ran forward to fight them. At one moment she was winning, punching and shoving each Kelzak. However, she couldn't hold them off forever, and she was pushed in front of the camera.

"Say cheese!" Marah yelled as she pulled the camera's trigger.

Suddenly, a clone of Tori appeared in front of the three girls. "Look familiar?" she retorted. The real Tori was being sucked into the device.

"It worked!" Kapri exclaimed. Clone Tori turned to the pinkie. "What are your orders?" she asked in a robotic tone. "Return to Storm Chargers and make those two boys take you to their headquarters."

"Yes ma'am."

Kapri shook her head. "And DON'T call me ma'am. I'm not that much older than you."

"Tori" bowed and left the two real girls alone. Marah giggled and turned to her sister. "Can we go shopping now? 'Cause I have Uncle's card."

The real Tori, however, was inside a contraption surrounded by Kelzaks. "Let me out of here!" she cried. "Let me go!" The monsters, however, shook her cage to mock her. Furious, Tori took off her "fashion" clothes, revealing her ninja uniform, and tried to contact help. "Cam, can you hear me? Shane, Dustin, Dani, anybody?"

Shane and Dustin were busy working on the yellow's bike when they got a sudden tap on the back. Tori, at least they thought it was, was dressed in a style not her own and gave them a look that would scare most children. "Whoa! Did you just crash into an outlet mall?" Shane asked, seeing the clothes.

"I have to get to ninja ops right away," she told them. Shane and Dustin pulled her father into the back of the store.

"Dude, I can't I have bikes stacked up, like, out the door," Dustin said.

"I really need you guys," the blonde explained. "I was attacked by Kelzaks." Shane looked at her, then at Dustin, and headed out the door.

Real Tori pounded on the walls, and tried somehow to get out. After about ten minutes of pounding, she realized it wouldn't work. Sighing, Tori knelt in the middle of her captivity. She thought back on something Sensei had told her previously;

" _A ninja's power flows through them from deep within their being."_

Tori smiled. "That's it!" She stood and prepared to use her water powers. "I summon blue ninja powers of the rising waters!" Her powers kicked in, causing water to flow from under her and rise her towards the exit. She let out a giggle, proud of herself.

Dustin, driving Tori's van, sighed as he looked at the gas meter. "Aw, we might have to stop for gas man,"

"We're not stopping!" Tori ordered. Shane and Dustin frowned, wondering what was wrong with her.

"Well, what if we don't make it?" Shane questioned.

"We'll make it!" Tori snapped in reply, "Just drive!" The two boys looked at each other, a little scared of the new water ninja.

As they continued driving, they were again stopped by an obstacle. "Oh no, road work!" Dustin complained, stopping the van for the construction workers.

"Don't stop!" Tori demanded.

"What can I do?" Dustin asked concerningly.

Tori took off her seatbelt and jumped out of the car. She walked up to the construction man, holding the stop-slow sign and started yelling at him. Shane and Dustin hear very few words from the van, which was far away from the gate. While walking back to the van, the boy from the beach noticed Tori and waved. Tori saw him and gave him a look that could kill before getting back inside the van. "Tori! That's the guy!" Shane exclaimed.

"What guy?"

"The guy from the beach! Dude, that's him!" he said.

"Whatever, can we just go?" Tori asked impatiently.

"Hey, whatever dude, I thought you were all into him and stuff," Shane replied, officially weirded out, especially after their fight.

Tori slowly turned her head to him."CAN WE GET THERE PLEASE?!" she yelled.

"Dude, start the car!" Shane yelled to Dustin, who was already turning the engine back on. "Start the car!" The two boys were now terrified of the Tori who had asked them for help.

The water ninja was finally at the top of the contraption. When she finally got out, she contacted the ranger that was not with her clone. "Dani?"

" _Yeah, Tor, what's up?"_

"Shane and Dustin are on the way there with my clone. The photoshoot was a trap. Stop them before they get there."

" _Wow, that's a new one. On my way."_

She smiled and streaked right in front of her van. Dani streaked to her side. "I had to see it for myself. Wow, this IS interesting!" The real Tori rolled her eyes at her friend's comment.

When the van stopped, clone Tori frowned. "Now what?"

When the boys saw the girls, they froze. Finally, Dustin spoke up; "Dude, that girl next to Dani looks just like Tori." Shane gave him an 'um, duh' look. "Ya think?" he retorted. Clone Tori growled and got out of the car.

When she faced her 'twin', she smirked. "Anything you can do, I can do better."

"Except pick clothes," Real Tori replied. "And what is with that hair?"

"Yeah, you might wanna check a mirror," Dani agreed.

"You think you're funny?" The clone snapped. "Bring it on, girlfriend!" She, too revealed her ninja uniform and fought the two others.

"We still gotta help her!" Shane said, running towards the girls.

"Wait," Dustin stopped the red. "Which her?"

"The one that Dani's fighting with," Shane told him. "There aren't two of her. Let's go." He and Dustin ran towards the fight when a monster jumped in front of them.

"Tori's busy, I heard you say," the monster started, "so the Copybot's come to brighten your day!"

Dustin turned to his friend. "I'll give you one guess what I'm thinking right now."

Shane nodded. "Reading your mind, bro."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM HA!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

While the boy's battle was looking pretty well, the girls weren't having such luck. Dani was having trouble making sure which Tori was which. When she was trying to keep track, the clone kicked her in the stomach and knocked her down against a rock and the hurricane ninja hit her head.

The Toris' kept a tough battle going until the point where the real Tori hit a fountain. Her clone smirked. "Looks like you've met your match. Face it, sister, you're finished."

Tori looked behind her to discover the fountain and smiled. Getting up, she said, "I'd say you're the one that's washed up." Using her power of water, Tori splashed her clone, knocking her to the ground. The clone melted, giving the blonde victory. "Well, I guess she's not exactly like me."

Dani was standing behind her, fully recovered. "That's something you'd see out of Wizard of Oz," she noted. "Is your real name Dorothy?"

Tori laughed at her friend. "You're a dork. Let's get rid of the copycat."

"Agreed."

When they rushed over to help the guys, the boys stopped for a minute. "Guys, its me," Tori smiled.

"And I don't have an evil clone," Dani added.

"We know that, Dan," Dustin said, but turned to Tori, "but how do we know it's the real Tori?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your real name is Waldo, and Shane, you're afraid of spiders."

Dustin laughed. "You're afraid of spiders?"

Shane glared at the earth ranger. "You wanna make something of it Waldo?"

The monster got up. "Are you through?"

"Now that you mention it," Dani said, glaring at the other two, "yes, we are. Ready?" Tori nodded.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

"KELZAKS!" Copybot yelled. "Attack them I say! Attack right away!" The rangers defeated the minions with no problem, using their new techniques. "So you beat the Kelzaks, whoop-de-doo!" The monster yelled. "You rangers will pay by the time I'm through!"

"Not today!" Dani yelled and ducked under Copybot's blasts. When she tried to attack, the alien disappeared. She frowned.

The monster smirked. "Copybot magic, for you it's so tragic!"

Tori smirked. "I got a little magic of my own. Blue ranger flood attack!" A shot of water was sent his way. The monster was beat, and thanks to the Storm Striker, destroyed momentarily.

However, the copycat grew and the zords were called on. When they formed the megazord, Copybot cloned himself and ordered; "Multi attack! Give them a whack!"

When they were getting attacked from all sides, the rangers groaned. "Cam, there's too many Copybots!" Dani said into her morpher. "I didn't even like it when there was just one!"

" _Got something for you,"_ he said through the communicator. " _I like to call it the Megazord Lightning Mode. You control it by using your inner power, but remember it only lasts sixty seconds."_

"It takes longer to make microwave popcorn!" Shane frowned.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Great, Shane, now I _really_ wanna watch _the Wizard of Oz."_

"That's all the time we'll need!" Tori told Cam. "Ready, guys?"

"We're all over it!"

"Like I'd say no!"

"Let's go!" Using the Lightning Mode and the power disks, the rangers took out the Copybot once and for all.

While Tori was walking to Storm Chargers to pick up Dani for a movie night, Shane stared at her. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," he said casually, "I was just noticing, I mean you aren't completely unbeautiful, you know."

Tori looked confused. "Gee, thanks."

"Okay, Tori," Dustin said as he walked in with Kelly and Dani. "There's a customer over there who needs help with a surfboard. Can you do me a favor and talk to him?"

"You do realize I don't actually work here."

"Tor, Dustin's clueless when it comes to surf talk," Dani said.

"Hey!"

"What about Kelly?" Tori asked suspiciously.

Dustin shook his head. "Okay, dude just go talk to the guy!"

He pushed her over towards the customer "Fine! Can I help you?" she asked the surfer.

The boy turned around, revealing to be the hot surfer from the beach that morning. She looked behind her, all of her friends giving her the thumbs up. She smiled, turning back to him.

"Hi, I'm Tori," she said sweetly.

"Hey, I'm Dill," the boy replied, shaking her hand. The two talked about surfing while the other rangers and Kelly smiled at them.


	4. And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

_**A/N: Hey friends! Decided to post another chapter today! The updates won't be as regular anymore since I start classes Thursday, but I will keep editing and posting with not more than a week in between. Should be fun.**_

 _ **Also, this chapter is one I wrote myself to make up for not writing in years. I decided to make Tommy Dani's brother instead of father, just because of the space between Turbo and Ninja Storm. But yeah! Hope you love this story!**_

 _ **And as always, review! Tell me how I can make this better!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I own Dani alone. I don't own Power Rangers.**

Ch. 4: And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Dani ran at her normal speed away from her pursuer. She flipped over tables, jumped across buildings, did handsprings on the beach and slid down railings, but he was hot on her trail. She ran almost faster than she could ever run without streaking. She kept up that pace until she was cornered between two skyscrapers and realized there was no way out. Not without a fight, at least. He wouldn't allow it.

She threw several punches at him, all of which he either blocked or dodged. She had barely escaped all of his hits, but they wouldn't stop coming. She slid tackled him once, but he sprung back up and drove a kick to her stomach. She got up and threw two more punches, but he caught both of them, and turned her back to the ground. Before she knew it, he stood over her. She was done for.

He offered her his hand. "You're getting stronger, Dan."

Dani accepted his hand, rubbing her shoulder after she got up. "And you are still as strong as ever, Tom."

Thomas "Tommy" Oliver looked at his baby sister with a smile. "Bet you'll get to be better than me."

The ninja scoffed. "I doubt it. I just got my black belt last year, and you got yours when you were thirteen."

Tommy chuckled. "That's because I've been fighting since I could walk. You only started a little after.."

"After Dave died," Dani sighed, leaning her head on her brother's shoulder. "It'll take me ten years to be that good."

"Aw, don't be so hard on yourself, kid," he said, pulling her in for a hug."You're a great fighter."

She smiled and returned the embrace. "You have no idea how much it means for you to say that." Dani sighed. "I miss him."

"Me too, Dan," Her brother hugged her tighter. "Every day. But I see his stubbornness and compassion rubbed off on you"

"Like you're one to talk," Dani muttered, a tear escaping from her eye.

Tommy grinned. "That may be true. And hey, at least you're smiling now." She chuckled at this. After they stepped apart, he asked, "You wanna grab lunch?"

Dani was about to say yes when her watch beeped. She frowned, realizing she had to go for her class. "I'll have to rain check. I forgot I have a mandatory volleyball practice in 20 mins. How long will you be home?"

"I'll be home today and tomorrow," He sighed. "Then back to school."

"You had to get that degree, didn't ya?" his sister teased. "You'll do great, Tommy. I'll be home in a few hours." She gave him one last hug before running to her army green Jeep.

Later, by the waterfall near the portal of the academy, the air, water, earth, and hurricane ninjas were sparring against each other. Shane and Tori were going at it while Dani was dodging all of Dustin's moves and throwing her own punches and kicks into the mix. He had almost dodged them all until she flipped over him and delivered a kick to his rear end, throwing him to the ground. He tried to get up only to be pushed to the ground by her hand. "Got you, Brooks," she smirked."

He sighed. "I can't believe you completely kicked my butt," Dustin shook his head. "Even literally."

Dani chuckled. "I gotta go find the other two."

As she streaked away, he yelled behind her. "You got lucky, Oliver!"

A hop, skip, and a jump away, Blue and Red fought relentlessly. Tori's fluid fighting was almost a dead match for Shane's ferocity. Almost.

Tori delivered several kicks and punches to Shane, but he was better at dodging than she was.

After a few lucky blows to her side, Shane managed to flip over Tori and pin her to the ground.

He grinned. "Nice try, Hanson."

She smiled right back. "You did good, Clarke," she admitted, "but Dani's going to kick your butt."

"Bet me."

"Ten dollars." She held out her hand.

He shook it firmly. "In her dreams."

Shane streaked around the forest, unable to find the white ninja. He knew that he couldn't use powers, but he wished he could so he could scout out the area. He stood defensively, constantly moving around to not have his back turned.

All of a sudden, a loud "Hi-yah!" descended from a tree and was getting closer and closer until Dani's foot landed on Shane's back. He landed with a thud, quickly getting up to fight. However, the kick left Shane out of it, and Dani won the spar with ease by sweeping her foot to his ankles.

Dani grinned. "Boosh."

"Yeah yeah, Shane retorted, wishing he hadn't bet Tori.

"You looked good, Shane," she said honestly, helping him up. "Just keep your eyes open and your reflexes sharp."

The red ninja smiled as they walked back to Ops. "Thanks, Dan," he said. "You're an insanely talented fighter."

White smiled as they stepped through the trapdoor. "Thanks. Tons and tons of practice went into it."

"I can tell," Sensei said. The two were greeted by him, Dustin, Tori, and Cam. "You did well, Danielle. However, I recommend you take a break from training. I do not want you to overexert yourself."

"Thank you, Sensei,," Dani smiled, "but I'll be fine."

"How long have you been training?" Tori asked, concerned about her friend, but not before getting the $10 she won from Shane.

The brunette thought about it. "What time is it?"

"Two thirty," Shane replied, checking his own watch.

"Then four hours. Five if you count an hour of meditation."

"Straight?!" Dustin's eyes widened. "You haven't taken a break?"

"I've got sleep for that," Dani explained, not seeing what the big deal is. "Besides, I wanna be ready for Lothor's goons."

"Yeah, but you won't be any good if you pass out from exhaustion," Cam told her.

She looked at him and sighed. "Cam.."

"At least take a ten minute snack and water break," he begged. "I want my friend to be alive, and she has to drink water and eat to do that."

Dani groaned. "Fine." She grabbed her water bottle and sandwich from her bag and sprawled out on the floor.

Cam looked to his father. "Think she's gonna be okay?"

"I think," Sensei replied, "that you need to be there for her. She needs to slow down and feel what she's feeling."

Cam nodded as he watched her fall asleep after finishing her sandwich.

An hour went by before Dani realized she had fallen asleep on the floor. She saw Cam typing away at his computer, and taking her water bottle with her, she went and placed her head on Cam's shoulder.

He snickered. "Morning, sleepy." The brunette groaned as she sipped on her half-empty water bottle. "You know sleep is good for you, right?" He asked her.

"But I could've missed something," Dani pouted. "Did I?"

"Just a call from your dad. And you just missed it too."

"Crap," she muttered as she went to get her phone. As she did, however, Cam's computer started beeping. "What was that?"

"New walls downtown," Cam crinkled his nose. "But I'm detecting life signatures from them."

"I'll go check it out!" Dani piped as she ran towards the exit.

Cam sighed, knowing he couldn't stop her. "You're in your ninja suit still, genius!" He yelled as she left.

After putting her clothes over her suit again, Dani parked her Jeep and investigated the new walls. The location Dani got from Cam was right downtown, where a lot of people should be out and about at. When she arrived, however, the only other beings in sight were Kelzaks and an alien who looked like a giant concrete block. The monster viewed her out of the corner of his eye. "Welcome, ranger. You like what I've done with the place?"

"What do you want, blockhead?" Dani shouted back.

The monster snickered. "That's easy. I want you to be out stone cold!" As this happened, Kelzaks rushed over to where Dani was standing. She fought several Kelzaks off with her combat skills, flipping, kicking, and punching many. After awhile, she grew tired. "Cam?" She spoke into her morpher. "Needing backup!

"Backing up? Okay!" The monster screamed, slamming itself into Dani, knocking her down.

"Come on," she muttered. After she picked herself up, she knew she had no choice.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

"Bring it!"

"You asked for it!" The monster growled, running at her. White punched and kicked, but hurt herself each time. The blockhead pushed, hit, and threw her to the ground until she could barely stand.

Dani whimpered in pain while the monster cornered her. "Now for you to join the wall of pain!" He laughed maniacally, pulling his laser gun out of its holster.

Before he could do that, three laser beams hit him on the back. He turned around to find the red, blue and yellow rangers facing him. "Yo Blocky!"

"Ah, there are the other rangers!" The monster grinned. "Ready to join the other people in that wall?"

"Let them go!" Tori cried.

"Gotta catch me first!" He snapped, summoning an army of Kelzaks and slipping through a portal. Dani got up and fought with them, but afterward, she fell weak and demorphed.

"Power down!" The rangers commanded and rushed to the white ranger's side.

"Dani, you okay?" Shane asked?

"Fine," she grumbled, wincing in pain.

"No you're not," Tori corrected her, as Dustin and Dani helped her up and carried her back to Ops.

Cam provided ice packs and pain killers for the white ranger when she returned. Dani hated being babied, but the rangers weren't having it any other way. Dani hadn't rested for so long in months. And she hated it.

While the rangers were training their ninja powers in the quarry, Dani groaned. "I should be out there, not buried under ice packs."

Sensei sighed. "I know you love training, Danielle," he said, walking over to where she lay. "But you have not given yourself enough time to rest up. Even power rangers need sleep."

Dani shrugged. "I'm used to working off of little sleep. I do it all the time."

"I am aware," Sensei nodded. "You are working so hard so you have no time to process what is going on in your mind, and that is an essential skill to have when you are a ninja. And what you are doing to yourself with rest cannot be healthy."

"Maybe I don't want to process what's going on," Dani muttered.

"Dani, Dad's right," Cam said calmly. "You're not resting, which doesn't leave you sufficient strength to fight when Lothor's goons today-"

Dani rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know I got my butt handed to me today, Cam."

"I wasn't finished," He told her. "You're not letting yourself feel because you're constantly practicing fighting so much. That amount of activity is inhumane. You need to breathe."

"I fight because it's what I've been doing my whole life," she snapped, getting up. "From the moment I could read I've fought loss, bullying, loneliness, and a lot of pain. I've fought to keep the smile on my face even when I'm hurting. That's part of why I keep being a goof, so you won't see how broken I am! No one wants to see that!"

"Dani, that's not true-"

"And now I can't fight, so what am I supposed to do?!"

"Try to let me in for once!"

Dani couldn't speak. She was shaking and tearing up. She was hurting, angry, and sad. She was vulnerable. "I need to go," she quipped before running out of Ops.

"Dani!" Cam called, starting to go after her.

"Wait, Cam," Sensei said, flipping in front of his son. "Give her time."

"But Dad-"

"She will learn to let us in," the guinea pig said kindly. "She will come back when she is ready."

Dani parked the beach where she played volleyball and trained so often. She watched the waves as she did when she had a lot on her mind. Next to her, her brother's black Jeep pulled in and parked. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hey yourself," she replied, her mind still elsewhere.

"What's wrong?" he asked, exiting his car to jump into his sister's passenger seat.

"I'm fine, Tom," she told him, eyes still on the waves.

"Danielle Grace," Tommy said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You can pull that with a lot of other people, but you aren't fooling me. We're related, remember?"

The ninja let out a smirk. "Oh yeah, I forgot." Dani sighed. "Why is trusting people so hard now?"

He smiled sadly and put an arm around her. "Because you went through a lot of things a sixteen year-old shouldn't. You grew up pretty fast."

"That wasn't entirely my fault," Dani said defensively.

"Never said it was, Dan." He sighed. "Sis, ever since David passed away, you've made it tougher and tougher for people to get in. You need to let the walls come down."

"I would," she started. "Except that every time I try, someone uses my vulnerability against me and I'm just as hurt." Dani buried her head in Tommy's shoulder. "I don't want to hurt anymore."

"But your teammates seem different from the kids that messed with you."

"My what?"

He laughed. "Dani, I've told you I was a ranger. I know a morpher when I see one. And you've been wearing white a lot."

She laughed as she looked at her white tank top. "Touche."

"But seriously. You won't know how they'll treat you unless you try." He looked into her brown eyes. "And, if they do end up being jerks, I can always teach them a lesson.

Dani smiled. "Thanks, Tommy."

Meanwhile at Storm Chargers, Dustin was working while Tori was watching Shane nail a new trick outside. After the fifteenth time, he landed on his rear end.

"Nice one," Tori chuckled.

Shane glared at her. "Thanks for the support, teammate."

She smiled. "You know, maybe you should take a break? You don't wanna be too sore when that cement monster comes back."

He sighed. "Like Dani?"

She nodded. "I wonder what's gotten into her, anyway? I've never seen her this bad. She was doing awesome in training."

Shane shrugged. "I don't know, but sounds like she needs time to work through it." He laughed. "I know I did."

"You needed something alright."

"Hey!"

Tori laughed as the two walked inside to meet their teammate. "Anything from Dani?" Dustin asked, and frowned when the two shook their heads.

"Relax," Kelly smiled as she walked in from the back. "If I know anything about our young friend, she won't rest until she finds an answer."

Ironically, Dani fell asleep in her car on Tommy's shoulder. She had been out an hour and a half. Tommy didn't mind. He didn't get to spend much time with her, so he better make the most out of it.

Suddenly, her morpher beeped, but Dani didn't wake. Her brother shook her until she almost jumped. She frowned. "Tommy, what the-" She recognized the beeping. "Cam?"

" _Hey all star, you heal yet?"_ Cam's voice came through the communicator.

Her face sank. She had treated him badly. "Yeah. Look Cam-"

" _Thank God. The others are fighting that blockhead_ _downtown. They could use some Hurricane power."_

She nodded. "I'm good. I'm on my way." She hopped out of her Jeep and looked to her brother and hugged him again. "Thank you."

Tommy smiled. "Go get 'em, tiger."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

She streaked to where the other rangers were standing. "What did I miss?"

"Dani!" Dustin smiled.

"You good?" Shane asked, still concerned for her.

Dani nodded, looking at her teammates, her friends. "Yeah, I'm good. Promise."

"You won't be for long!" The monster screamed as he shot lasers at the rangers.

"That's what you think!" Tori shouted.

"I got an idea," Shane said. He looked to his teammates. "You trust me?"

"Yeah!" Tori nodded.

"You bet!" Dustin agreed.

Dani smiled. "Absolutely."

The four streaked to four different corners of the city. They attacked the monster from each side, causing him to fall. With a few kicks and punches, a Storm Striker blast, and a megazord battle, the Wind Rangers brought the cement monster down, restoring the people back to normal.

While the other rangers returned to Storm Chargers, Dani raced back to Ops, and the white ninja flew into her best friend's arms, devouring him in a hug. This is a hug he embraced easily, happy to see she was okay. After the two stepped apart, Cam smiled. "Well hey there."

"Hi," Dani returned his smile. "Listen, I'm sorry I kept you out of my walls. It's just been hard to trust a lot of people in my life. Even you."

"I get that," Cam nodded, "but I'm not those people. I'm not going to do anything to hurt you." He took her hands into his and looked her in the eyes. "I promise."

"I promise too. And I promise I'll get into a better sleeping schedule soon." Dani turned to her teacher. "Thank you for caring for me, Sensei. Thanks for letting me come back to my senses."

"Thank you for coming back," Sensei replied. "The team would not function as well without you."

"Even as goofy as you are," Cam smirked. Dani stuck her tongue out at the Sensei's son, just proving his point further.


	5. Looming Thunder

_**Hey all! Sorry about the short delay! Just finished moving back into my dorm. Have no fear though, chapter 5 is here! Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, it means the world to me. Keep it up, and I should have a new chapter for you soon!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything but Dani Oliver. Unfortunately.**

Chapter 5: Looming Thunder

As Dustin raced, Dani cheered him on while Kelly kept time. As he was on the last stretch, two new racers, in crimson and navy gear, passed him just as he got to the finish line. "Woah," Dani breathed. "I know a lot of motocrossers, and Dustin's the best I know. Looks like he's met his match." Kelly nodded as Dustin came over to the girls.

"Have you ever seen those guys before?" he asked the two, his head looking between his friends and his new rivals.

"They ride like factory pros," Kelly told him as she gave him a water bottle. "I would've remembered."

"Just be glad they don't race 125s," Dani added, also amazed.

The brunette boy got off his bike. "I'm gonna go talk to 'em. Wanna come with?"

"Sure," Dani nodded as the two walked over to the newer racers.

"Hey there," Dustin said. "How's it going?"

"Track's a little soggy," Crismon replied. "Yeah, like that slowed you down," Dani said sarcastically.

Crimson smiled at her. "You bike?"

The girl shook her head. "Motorcross, no. BMX, a little. I'm mainly focused on volleyball though."  
"That's cool," he replied. "I'm Hunter." He held out his hand.

"Dani." She shook it and introduced the yellow motocrosser. "This is my friend, Dustin."

"And this is my little bro, Blake," Hunter said, referring to the navy biker.

When they had all exchanged greetings, Dustin froze. "Wait, you guys are brothers?"

"We're adopted," Hunter explained.

"Oh, right, cool," Dustin uttered, a little embarrassed. "Well, I haven't seen you around before. Where's the hometrack?"

Blake started. "Uh, we come down from-"

"You wouldn't have heard of it," Hunter interrupted defensively.

"Easy bro," Blake chuckled before turning to Dustin. "And he wonders why we don't have any friends. But listen, you were pretty fast out there before."

Dustin scoffed. "Yeah right, man. I must be giving a couple seconds of laps to you guys."

"You get too much air on your jumps," Hunter told him. "It slows you down."

His brother nodded. "He's right. Dark and brooding, but right."

"Well, dark, brooding, and available," he smiled, trying to impress the volleyball player.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Not to mention cocky."

Blake laughed. "Smooth, bro." He turned to the racer in yellow. "Listen, what are you doing tonight? Wanna follow us?" Dustin sighed. "Um, actually, can I take a raincheck? We gotta be somewhere."

"Yeah, no worries," Hunter nodded in understanding. "Next time."

"Yeah, cool, next time," Dustin replied cheerfully as he left.

"Nice meeting you guys," Dani told the two as she left the track and headed towards ninja ops. 

Cam stood in the forest, watching Tori and Shane test out his new creation. He was also waiting for the other two rangers, who were late. Dani arrived earlier than Dustin, as usual. "Hey, sorry I'm late," she said apologetically. "What's going on?"

"This," the boy in green replied as he pressed a button on the joystick, revealing her new ride. Rolling to her side was a white Tsunami Cycle.

Dani's eyes widened, and she burst out with a grin.

"That's insane!" she exclaimed before morphing and hopping on.

Cam laughed, shouting behind her "You're welcome!"

Dustin came about twenty minutes later into the woods. "Tori? Shane? Dani? C'mon you guys!" He sighed, for his friends were nowhere to be found. "Man, don't tell me I missed training again. Why do I do this to myself?"

Suddenly, Kelzaks surrounded him. He fought them off the best that he could, but eventually, he hit the ground with a thud. When he thought he was done for, the other rangers appeared with the new bikes, and their lasers hit the goons. Dustin watched them in awe, and looked to find Cam behind him.

"Hey Dustin," the sensei's son greeted him.

"Hey, man!" Cam sighed.

"You know, I told these guys not to engage the enemy until the bikes were ready. Of course, no one ever listens to the guy with glasses."

Dustin ignored him in his own excitement. "Dude, these are the Tsunami Cycles?" They ducked, since Tori was jumping over the two in her Cycle. He smiled even bigger. "I thought these were months off being ready!"

"So did I," Cam said, also smiling in pride.

"So, you got something for me?" the earth ninja asked.

Cam's face turned confused. "No, should I?"

Dustin's smile came off his face. "C'mon, quit joking around, man."

"No, seriously, I don't know what you're talking about," Cam smirked.

Dustin frowned. "So you're saying the motocross guy is the only one who DOESN'T get a Tsunami Cycle?"

"Alright, alright," Cam relented, seeing Dustin was falling for it. He again pulled out his joystick, and a truck came towards them with the Wind Academy symbol. "Meet your new Mobile Command center," he introduced the truck. He pressed a button on the joystick and brought his bike out from the truck.

"Oh, dude," Dustin breathed as the yellow bike came towards him.

"Well put, Dustin," Cam agreed.

"Anything I should know?" the ranger asked absentmindedly.

"Yeah, just make sure that-" He stopped, for Dustin had ignored him, morphed, and wiped the Kelzaks out with his friends. "Why bother?" he mumbled.

After the Kelzaks were defeated, the rangers took a victory lap and demorphed. They high-fived each other, praising their new bikes. Cam frowned, since they still needed some tuning. Then Tori and Shane turned to Dani and Dustin.

"Where were you today?" Shane asked them.

"I was at the track, waiting for him," Dani replied defensively, pointing to the Earth ninja.

"Yeah, well, I met these two guys today," Dustin explained. "They're like crazy fast and I'm hooking up with them later."

"Yeah, whatever," Shane said ignorantly. "Just remember what's important here." 

Back at Ops, Cam and Dani were taking a break from Ranger responsibilities, as the white ninja had been instructed to do more often. They had been playing UNO, and Dani was almost out. He placed a black card down in front of him. "Draw four."

Dani glared at him for a few seconds before placing her final card, which was also a Draw Four. "You would have to draw eight," she snickered, "but it doesn't matter! I win!"

Cam rolled his eyes. "I swear you cheat at this game."

After a bit more boasting and groaning, the alarm rang, and Cam hurried back to his station.

"What's going on, Cam?" Tori asked as three of the rangers joined him at the monitor.

"Some kind of subterranean disturbance," Cam replied. "This is not good."

Suddenly, the ground shook from underneath them, and the four barely managed to keep their balance. When the earthquake stopped seconds later, Tori noticed. "It stopped."

"For now," Dani mumbled.

Cam frowned at the computer. "The seismographs are picking up some serious activity!" He told the three, and he found a mole monster.

"There's your reason why," Shane stated.

"That is one massive mole," Tori added.

"And I thought normal moles were ugly," Dani noted. "This one is just more gross."

Dustin ran into Ops. "Sorry guys, got hung up at the track," he said, not sounding like he fully meant it.

"Better late than never," Shane replied while Dustin looked at the screen, seeing the monster they were about to face.

"He's at the quarry," Cam said to the rangers.

"On it," Shane nodded before morphing with the team.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

When the rangers got to the quarry, the mole, aka Teramole, was prancing around. "Hey molehead!" Tori yelled.

"We don't dig what you've been up to!" Dustin added.

"Or what you look like," Dani stated. "Maybe you should just go back into the ground and stay there!"

"Well, I'm guessing by the spandex that it's your job to stop me. Catch me if you can!" Teramole smirked as he dove underground.

Tori, Dani, and Shane couldn't do anything. The four Rangers stood in a circle, waiting for the mole to come back up. When it did, he came up between them, knocking Shane, Tori, Dani and Dustin down. He went back underground before the rangers had a chance to attack him. "Alright! Dig this dirt boy!" Dustin yelled. "Ninja Dirt Dive!" However, the dirt dive failed, and Dustin landed above ground with a thud.

"TERAMOLE IN THE HOUSE!" The monster shouted gleefully. "Watch and learn, rangers, I'm gonna trash your city from the inside out!" And with that, he went underground and left the four. 

After the battle, Dustin left immediately to Storm Chargers while the three others went back to Ops. Later, Shane and Tori joined the earth ninja. However, he wasn't working like he was supposed to. He was with the two guys he met at the track. Dustin looked up at the group and smiled. "Hey guys! You finally get to meet! Shane, Tori- Hunter and Blake." The four exchanged greetings.

"Dustin's told us a lot about you," Hunter told the two.

"But not everything," Blake said, eying Tori, causing the water ninja to look down at the ground and blush.

Shane awkwardly watch this interaction, then turned to his friend. "Hey, Dustin, gotta minute?" Dustin nodded, and the two went to speak privately.

"You were supposed to be back at Ninja Ops," Shane frowned.

Dustin sighed. "Yeah, but these guys showed up, and we started checking out bikes, and I just got spaced."

"Sensei's not happy. He's doing that thing with his nose again."

The brunette boy frowned. "Great," he said sarcastically, and dragged his friends out of the shop.

Shane forgot something, and when he went back into the shop, he overheard the brothers talking.

"Boy, Tori is fine!" Blake grinned, acting like a schoolboy with his first crush.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed "Question is, why would she hang out with a goof like Dustin?"

Blake shrugged. "Who knows, maybe she likes doing charity work." The boys laughed.

Shane glared at the two before walking out. What he forgot could wait.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred," Sensei counted as Dustin finished his push-ups. "Maybe now you will learn the importance of punctuality."

"And you'll have really nice pecks," Tori smiled, sitting next to him.

Shane walked over by Dani, filling her in on what he overheard. She frowned. "He's not gonna like this."

"Yeah," Shane agreed, "but I'd rather have him find out from us than those punks."

Dani nodded as the two walked over to a worn-out Dustin. "Hey, Dustin, can we talk to you for a sec?" Dustin sighed, rolled off the table he was on, and walked to where the red and white rangers were standing.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Dustin, how well do you know Blake and Hunter?" Dani asked.

"Yeah, I mean, they come out of nowhere and suddenly they're your best friends," Shane added.

"It's a motocross thing," Dustin explained, "You've got your skater buds you hang out with, and you have your volleyball friends. They're total posers, and I don't say a word."

As he was about to leave, Shane said, "Well at least we know what's important here." Dustin became furious and turned around. "Look, ever since you've been hanging out with these guys, your priorities have been totally messed."

"That's crazy man!" Dustin exploded. "Dani, help me out!"

"I want to say he's wrong, dude," Dani shrugged. "But you completely bailed on us after we fought that mole. Tell me your new friends aren't as important as saving the world."

Dustin glared at the brunette. "That's bogus! Back me up here, Tori!" Tori, however, stayed silent. "C'mon, man!" He yelled. "Okay look, I admit, I've been a bit of an air head lately-"

"This is not chess club," Shane cut him off. "We're talking about the end of the world here! Do you even get that?"

"Sensei, a little help here?" Dustin tried, not knowing where to go.

"You can only help yourself Dustin," Sensei said,"with your actions, not your words."

Dustin frowned, not seeing his error. He only saw his friends and teacher that were not backing him up. "I can't believe this!" He yelled. "I'm going riding!" And with that, the earth ninja stormed out of ops.

Dustin grinned as he crossed the finish line and rode to his new friends. "Cleared it no problem that time," he said with a sense of pride.

Hunter nodded. "Keep that up, and you may be ready for the 250s."

"Yeah, remember this moment," Blake added.

"You know, it's been really cool hanging with you guys," Dustin smiled, taking his backpack off, because it was getting pretty heavy. "It's hard to find dudes who actually get what you're into, you know?"

"Heard that," Hunter agreed.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, causing Dustin to lose his balance and fall.

"What was that?" Blake asked once it finally stopped, helping the wind ninja up.

"I dunno, weird huh?" Dustin replied nervously as his morpher beeped. He knew what it was.

"Hey, freaky watch," Hunter said, taking a hold of Dustin's arm. "Does that have a compass?"

Dustin yanked his arm back. "Yeah, it's got a bunch of cool stuff, I'll show you sometime. Look, I gotta go."

He started to run off, Hunter stopped him. "Hey, how come you always gotta bail?" he asked the brunette.

"Yeah, Dustin. You wanna ride like a pro, you gotta practice like one, right?" his brother added. Hunter smirked. "C'mon, let's see if we can shave a few seconds off your time."

Dustin panicked with the looks the two were giving him. "You know guys, I really have to go," he told them firmly, running to go help his friends.

However, the ninja left his backpack in the hands of the snickering brothers.

"Where is he?" Shane yelled as he, Dani and Tori circled around the construction site in their uniforms waiting for Teramole to come up.

"Found him!" Tori yelled as the mole grabbed her legs and pulled her into the ground.

"Let her go!" Shane yelled. He pulled out his laser shooter to try and hit the mole, but he was also grabbed from behind by the monster.

Dani threw her Swan staff, but he reflected it back at her, and she also hit the ground. "Sucks to be hit by your own weapon," she groaned.

"He's tough," Shane remarked.

"Where's Dustin?" Tori asked.

"Who knows?" Dani rolled her eyes.

Teramole resurfaced. "That airhead?" he smirked. "His ranger days are over!"

Shane stood up. "Hey, we're the only ones who can call him an airhead!"

Tori nodded. "Yeah!"

"And he's our airhead, nonetheless!" Dani stated proudly.

Little did they know, Dustin was on his way. "Can't believe I got stuck in traffic," the yellow ranger muttered as he ran to his friends' aid. "Hope I'm not too late."

When he arrived, he saw them being beat by Teramole. "Oh man," he breathed. "Back off, mole!" He yelled before jumping down from the cliff he was standing on.

"Dustin!" Tori smiled."

As he landed, he attempted to hit the mole with his hammer. However, the mole dove back into the ground. "Can't hide forever!" he said as he scanned the area.

"Lion hammer time!" He yelled, smashing his hammer into the ground.

Back at ops, Cam sighed of relief. "Dustin cut that way too close," he told his father. "I was sure he wouldn't show.

"Observe, Sensei said, looking at the screen. "His actions will show his dedication."

Meanwhile, Dustin continued to hammer the area until he detected the monster. He smiled. "How's this for a big bang?" He delivered the final blow to the ground, leaving the mole no choice but to emerge.

Soon enough, the rangers had destroyed the monster with the Storm Striker and defeated his grown form with the megazord.

Dani, Shane, and Dustin cheered as Dustin rode happily on the track. The motocrosser was glad to have his teammates and friends back like normal. However, he didn't realized he gave them a nice layer of dirt.

"Thanks for the shower," Tori retorted.

"Yeah, sorry," Dustin laughed. "So, what, did I look faster?"

Shane smiled. "You were ripping bro!" He gave his friend a high-five, then looked around. "Hey, where's Hunter and Blake? I figured they'd be here."

Dustin shrugged. "Yeah I dunno, I guess they had better things to do than just hang out with a goof like me, huh?" Dustin shrugged, his smile disappearing.

"Don't talk like that," Dani frowned, punching his shoulder. "You ARE a goof, but that's why we love ya. You're our bro, for better or for worse." She laughed. "Plus, who else would be a goof with me?" Dustin rolled his eyes at this, but a smile tugged at his lips.

"Yeah," Shane agreed, "And about what I said before- I didn't mean you weren't committed."

"I know." Dustin nodded.

"Yeah, you're a great Ranger," Tori added. "A flake, but a great Ranger."

Dustin smiled. "Thanks guys. Well let's go gear up! If we're gonna be riding those Tsunami Cycles we'd better be ready." The other three agreed, and the four rangers went off together, as it should be.


	6. Thunder Strangers, Pt 1

_**A/N: To make up for my lack of posting before, here's chapter 6! This was easy to edit, so it was a breeze getting it up. Enjoy! And as always, review review review!**_

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _Paige_**

 ** _PS_**

 ** _Lemme know if you have any ideas for a pairing for Dani yet!_**

 **DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Power Rangers. Still own Dani.**

Chapter 6: Thunder Strangers, pt. 1

"Unbelievable!" Shane exclaimed.

"Dude, that's so sick it's just wrong." Dustin sighed.

"Wow, check out the lines on that baby. The way they move. Dude I can't believe it!" Shane said, slamming his head on the table.

As this was happening, Cam and Dani walked in. "You better not be doing anything illegal!" He yelled at the two.

The boys tried to protest, but Dani smirked, "You're on Cam's computer, so it's basically the same thing."

Cam took his computer. "The Tsunami Cycles?" he asked.

"Yeah man!" Dustin said giddily. "Check it out."

"Shouldn't you be doing schoolwork or annoying your parents or something?" Cam asked them, annoyed.

Dustin shrugged. "Well, it was already switched onto this channel."

"Computers don't have channels, Dustin," Dani told him.

He stared at her. "Really?"

Cam rolled his eyes."Yes. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't cruise in here without asking me first!"

"What's the big deal?" Shane asked defensively. "We didn't hurt it."

"Its just taken me two weeks to make the changes to the onboard telimmetry system. I just don't want anything to-"

Cam froze. His computer started to beep. "Please say this is a dream! I don't believe this!"

"Cam, why's your computer freaking out?" Dani asked.

"What's going on?" Shane chimed in, confused.

"You're sweating like really, really bad man." Dustin pointed out. "You okay?"

"It's frozen!" Cam exclaimed. He tried to fix it, typing madly, but then red Xs appeared on the screens in Ops. "The system's locked up! It's totally dead!"

"Cam, calm down," Dani said. "Didn't you have a backup?"

"Of course I did, I must have." Cam said, thinking back. Then it hit him. "Dustin, you have the backup. I gave it to you on that disk."

Dustin finally remembered. "Oh yeah, yeah right. It's in my backpack." He reached for his backpack, but there was nothing.

"Uh.. Dustin?" Dani asked. "Missing something?"

-NS-

Kelly walked into her shop and frowned at the mess that was being made. "What is this?" Getting no response, she walked closer. "Hello? Dustin?"

Dustin looked up. "Oh, hey."

"You DO understand the concept of cleaning, don't you?" She asked the brunette. "Things go ONTO the shelves?"

Dustin sighed. "You know what? I've lost my backpack and I can't even think about anything else until I find it."

"You'll find it," the redhead said assuredly. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask. Have you seen Blake or Hunter?"

Dustin shook his head. "They kinda blew me off last week and I haven't even seen them since." He rounded the store again, to make sure his backpack wasn't there.

"Have you got a cell number?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure, why?" Dustin replied as he grabbed a pen and paper.

"I got the money I needed for regionals next week," she said, smiling. "I gotta put a 250 team together, like yesterday."

"Alright," Dustin nodded and walked away. Then he turned around. "Hey, what about me?"

Kelly frowned. "I've only got a budget for 250s Dustin, and those guys have got the experience on big bikes. You understand, right?"

Dustin tried to hide his disappointment. "Yeah sure. I mean, If I were putting a team together I'd want them too. You know what? I've gotta go look."

Dustin raced out of the shop, with a guilty Kelly watching him go.

-NS-

As Shane finished up practicing at the skatepark, his fellow rangers joined him. "Any luck?" he asked.

Dustin shook his head. "No, man."

"Well, think," Tori said. "Where else have you been. Dustin thought.

Dani smirked. "Hint, where have you been spending all of your time?"

It hit him. "The track!" As he ran, their morphers beeped.

"Go for Shane."

 _"We're getting a strange heat signature reading at the Quarry,"_ Cam said through the communicator.

"Kelzaks?" Shane asked.

 _"No, I don't know what it is. Better Ranger up just to be safe."_

"Not gonna be a problem," Shane replied. The four looked around, making sure there was no one there.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! WIND RANGER POWER!"

The four streaked to the quarry, but they found no monster, no Kelzaks, nothing. "What's going on?" Shane asked.

"Not a whole lot," Tori replied.

"Nothing here," Dustin added.

"Keep your eyes open, guys," Dani warned. "Cam's usually dead on."

Sure enough, a blast of lightning came down and knocked the rangers down. "Note to self? Never EVER doubt Cam," Shane said.

"Told ya so," Dani smirked.

Suddenly, two figures stood in front of them. But not any figures. Rangers. One Crimson, one Navy.

"Who are you?" Shane asked.

"What's with the attitude?" Tori yelled.

"What the hell is WRONG with you?" Dani screamed.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Shane raised his voice.

"Obviously, you didn't get the memo," Crismon said. "Old rangers out, new rangers in!" Navy added.

Dustin frowned. "What? You expect us to fight you?" In response, the new rangers took their staffs and ran through the Wind Rangers, slicing them with their weapons.

"That was painful," Dani moaned.

"Doesn't seem like they wanna talk!" Shane mumbled

"I vote for kicking their wannabe butts!" Tori said.

"I hear ya!" Dustin agreed.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to play nice?" Red asked, running through the air.

"We don't do nice," Navy replied, kicking him against a rock.

"Shane!" Dani screamed as she went to help him up. She glared at the ranger. "I really don't like you."

"Don't worry," Navy smirked. "It's a mutual hate." She tried to kick him hard, but he sent her to the ground. The others weren't having luck with Crismon either. When Shane and Dani tried to help, Navy enlarged his staff and slashed all of them.

"They have sticks!" Shane announced.

"Really big sticks," Tori added.

"Evil sticks that hurt like hell," Dani agreed.

"Anybody have a suggestion?" Dustin asked.

"This. Ninja vanish!" Dani disappeared.

"Where'd she go?" Crismon asked. The new rangers circled around, looking for the White Ranger. But Dani attacked from behind invisibly, sending both to the ground.

"You'll pay, White ranger!" Crismon yelled. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Navy replied. And with that, they streaked away.

"Where'd they go?" Shane yelled.

"Really far away, if we're lucky." Dustin replied.

"I doubt it," Dani said.

"Hey Dani, how'd you do that?" Tori finally asked.

"Combination of both of my powers," she explained. "I worked on it nonstop for a while, but took a breather and finally did it. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah it is!" Dustin exclaimed.

"C'mon, lets get back to Ops," Shane said, streaking away with the others.

-NS-

At Ops, the rangers told Sensei about the new rangers all at once. He sighed and whistled. "One at a time."

"Sensei, who were those guys?" Shane asked.

"They fight in the style of the Thunder Ninja Academy," Sensei replied. "This is all I know for certain."

"I thought Lothor captured all the other Ninja Schools," Dustin said.

"If they're Power Rangers, shouldn't they be using their powers for good?" Dani questioned.

"Maybe he turned them against us," Tori suggested.

"You know, to fight fire with fire."

"Their fire comes from within," Sensei replied sadly. "Even Lothor could not be driving them to be attacking with such passion."

"I don't care what their problem is!" Dustin yelled. "All I know is they almost smoked us."

"Yeah, but they didn't." Shane frowned. "And I wanna know why."

"Do you think maybe they didn't really want us?" Dani asked. "You know, Lothor told them to kill us for something in return?"

"Anything could be possible, Danielle," Sensei said. "We will have to wait and see."

The monitor beeped. "The Quarry again?" Cam exclaimed in disbelief. "What is it, like a MonsterCon over there?" The others surrounded the geek boy as they watched a black monster on the screen.

"Zurgane," Shane noted. "Still ugly as ever.

"Ugh," Dani said in disgust, "he's the one I hate the most."

"Doesn't he usually come equipped with an evil, alien sidekick?" Tori asked.

"He's Zurgane," Dani told her. "He has anger issues.

"Don't all of them do?" Cam asked his friend.

She stared at the boy. "Touche."

"It could be a trap," Sensei said. "Use caution when engaging him."

Shane nodded. "We always do."

"Yeah, right," Cam smirked.

"Danielle, I would like you to stay here with us," Sensei told the white ranger. "This could be a trap to lure you in for power."

The brunette frowned. "But-"

"We'll call you if anything goes wrong," Shane assured the girl.

"Alright," she relented before the other rangers went to morph. "Be careful, guys."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

The three primary color rangers headed to confront Zurgane. "Lothor run out of good looking monsters?" Shane snapped at the alien.

"Where's your white ranger?" Zurgane asked in return.

"Why do you care?" Shane retorted.

Zurgane shook his head. "No matter. You want something done right, you do it yourself." He pulled two evil-looking swords out of what was supposed to be his shoulders.

When the rangers pulled out their swords and tried to attack, Zurgane just deflected them and slashed them. "I'm sick of Power Rangers! Rangers, Rangers, Rangers! That's all I ever hear! This will teach them to respect me!" As soon as he was about to deliver his final blow, he disappeared.

"Catch you later big guy!" Shane yelled.

"That was weird!" Dustin said.

"What do they want from us?" Tori asked in agreement.

" _Stay alert,"_ Dani said through the communicator.

As soon as she said that, they were blasted from behind by their two least favorite rangers. "Recognize these?" Crismon asked as they summoned something. Somethings, actually. Bikes. Tsunami cycles, Navy and Crismon.

From Ops, Cam's eyes widened. "Those are my Tsunami Cycles!"

Dani growled. "They won't get away with this," she said. She turned to Sensei. "May I?"

Reluctantly, he nodded. "Be careful."

"Dani!" Cam called. "I put some upgrades on your cycle, according to your powers." She smiled before morphing. "Thanks, Cam. You're the best"

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! HURRICANE POWER!"

Back at the Quarry, the rangers' butts were getting whooped. The Thunder rangers had a pattern; Circle, slash. Circle, slash. Finally, they stopped as the Winds fell to the ground. "Where's your White Ranger?" Navy laughed. "Was she too scared?"

Suddenly, he got a tap on the shoulder. But there was no one. Or so it seemed.

"I'm right here, dumbass," Dani snapped as she blasted lasers at the Thunders, causing them to fall. "Who's scared now?"

She ran to her friends' side. "You guys okay?"

"We are now," Shane said gratefully. "We didn't call, though."

She smiled. "Didn't need to."

"I can't believe those guys stole the disc," Dustin groaned. "How did they get it?"

"I knew you would be a pain," Crimson growled at the white ranger. "Nevermind. Time to finish what we started."

"Crimson Thunder Power."

"Navy Thunder Power."

"Sky of wonder."

"Power of Thunder."

Lightning struck. Thunder roared. Tori whined. "That does not look good!"

"Crimson Insectazord!"

"Navy Beetlezord!"

There they were. Two zords, shaped like bugs, burst out of the dirt. One navy. One crimson.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Tori frowned.

"They have zords?" Dustin exclaimed.

"This is getting ridiculous," Shane yelled.

"No kidding," Dani muttered.

"Later days," the Thunders smirked as they hopped into their zords.

"They wanna play rough?" Shane growled. "We're all about rough. Cam, hit it!"

Soon enough, their zords came into play and they were ready for action. Shane tried his zord's flame attack on Crimson, but the Thunder easily got out and shot the Hawk Zord. Dani's Swan Zord tried a hurricane against him, but hers was avoided and she got blasted as well.

"Shane! Dani! NO!" Tori screamed.

When Dustin got hit by Navy's zord, he Tornado blasted him with the Lion Zord, sending the Beetle zord spinning. He was about to squash the bug, but it disappeared underneath his zord's foot.

He reappeared behind the Dolphin Zord, snatched it, and tossed it next to the other three Wind Zords.

"Hey," Dani snapped. "That's my move."

"Let's bust out the Megazord on these punks!" Shane said.

"I'm with you on that," Dani agreed.

"FORM THE MEGAZORD NOW!"

As soon as the Storm Megazord was formed, the Crimson smirked. "Finally. Little something from the has-beens."

"Let's turn them into never-weres," Navy said.

"Thunder Megazord!" The two zords combined to make a new Megazord.

"Oh crap," Dani frowned.

"That's impossible!" Shane exclaimed.

"These guys are working my last good nerve," Tori stated.

"Copy that, Sister T," Dustin agreed.

The Thunder Megazord pushed and punched the Storm Megazord around. Even with the Serpent sword, Dani knew this was a losing battle. Cam even tried to send the rangers a Power Sphere, but the Thunders somehow snatched it. Dani flew out of the battle as the megazord went down.

"NO!" She screamed. She ejected from her Swan, powered down, and headed towards the crash site. She was met by Kelly, and conveniently, Blake, and Hunter.

It hit the White Ninja. It could not have been a coincidence.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kelly asked the three. "We're under attack!"

"There's a huge mess!" Dani exclaimed. "There was a huge crash, and there were people inside!"

"We think they need help," Hunter told the redhead. "C'mon!"

He ushered Dani forward, but she shook him off. "Don't touch me," she snapped before they went into the mess.


	7. Thunder Strangers, Pt 2

_**Hi friends! I'm so blessed to have had great reviews and feedback thus far! Just wanted to quickly shout out to my reviewers:**_

 _ **ariannacamberos1008**_

 _ **Gissnow**_

 _ **thunderyoshi**_

 _ **zackpierce4**_

 _ **dguice**_

 _ **lizziestrong**_

 _ **K.J. Bollinger**_

 _ **And many thanks to all of the follows and favorites that I've gotten from the first story and the reedited version. You all are amazing humans. Without further ado, here's chapter 7! As always, keep reviews coming! Lemme know how I can be better!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Paige**_

 _ **-PS: Keep pairings coming too! I think I'm going to decide what to do in chapter 9/10!**_

 **DISCLAIMER: Has no ownership over anything except Dani Oliver.**

Chapter 7: Thunder Strangers, Pt 2.

"Any sign of the rangers, Cam?" Sensei asked.

The boy shook his head and sighed. "So far, nothing but scorched earth and few fragments of Zord wreckage. He was concerned about the Wind Rangers, but mostly about his best friend. He didn't see if Dani got out of the wreckage or not, and the fact that she hadn't contacted him worried him.

When Cam summoned the Zords, he found something interesting. The Swan Zord had less damage. He instantly tried to contact the White Ranger.

-NS-

"There!" Blake yelled, as he, Hunter, Dani, and Kelly ran towards the three figures in front of them. The figures turned out to be Dustin, Tori, and Shane. Dani broke into a sprint. "You guys scared the hell out of me!" She screamed, tears running down her face.

Dustin opened his stiff arms for a hug, which she accepted. "Dan, we're okay," he reassured his friend, hugging her tight. The other two joined in, knowing that she would need it. Dani was a year younger than the other two, and she got overwhelmed really easily. The three of them going down in that crash scared her to death, since they were the only friends she knew.

When the four broke apart, Blake, Hunter, and Kelly walked up. "We were riding and we saw smoke," Blake said. "You okay?" He asked, mainly regarding Tori. "Yeah, thanks," she replied gratefully.

"What happened?" Hunter asked.

"I was listening in the car on my way here," Kelly explained. "They think it was some sort of alien attack!"

Blake turned to Shane. "What, does that sort of thing happen alot around here?"

Shane glared at the motocrosser, knowing something wasn't right about him or his brother. "You never wondered why housing is so cheap?" he retorted.

Dani's morpher beeped. She left quietly to answer her communicator, the tears finally stopping. "Cam?" There was a sigh of relief on the other end.

" _Dani. Thank God. Are you okay?"_

"I'm fine, I got out before the Zords went down."

" _Are the others with you?"_ Cam asked.

"Yeah, we're all alive," She nodded, looking how beat and battered her friends were. "We'll be at Ops in a few."

"We need to call someone!" Kelly insisted when Dani came back. "The police! The FBI! The CIA!"

The rangers shook their heads. "No, Kelly," Tori said sweetly. "We're fine, thanks." The four rangers left in silence.

When they were walking along, Dani asked, "You sure you guys are okay?"

Dustin frowned. "That was way harsh, man!" He looked down at his morpher. "You know what? I think my morpher's toast."

"Cam is gonna freak when he finds out we thrashed the Zords," Tori added.

"Knowing him, he's already freaking," Dani muttered.

-NS-

When the rangers got to Ops, the three in the battle gave Cam the morphers. He frowned. "Well, you've managed to reduce years of technological advances to a pile of scrap metal in a single afternoon. Not to mention what you did to the Zords."

"Cam," his father spoke up. "Now is not the time."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, you're right. Thankfully, the auto-retriever allowed the reactors time to reset the holographic portals. I've engaged the self reconstruct functions." He smiled and walked back to the monitor, the four following him. He turned around before sitting down. "Dani, I'd like to see your morpher too." She nodded and took it off.

Dustin frowned in confusion. "Dude, I've got NO idea what you just said to us."

Dani rolled her eyes. "They're fixing themselves, dimwit."

He stared at the girl. "Since when did you speak geek?"

"Since I became close friends with him," Dani stated, pointing at the boy in green.

Cam laughed. "You regretting it, Oliver?"

Dani smiled. "Never."

"Anyway," Shane said, bringing the topic back, "Why didn't they finish us off, Sensei?"

"I mean, those zords they had were sicko, bro!" Dustin paused and gave a slight bow. "I mean, Sensei."

"Thunder zords," Sensei told the rangers, "Created by the same technology that powers your own."

Tori frowned. "And these Thunder Ninjas work for Lothor? That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah," Shane agreed, "No more than Zurgane booking out of there when they showed up."

"I suspect that, as with all evil alliances, there is descension in their ranks," Sensei said thoughtfully. "Descension that can be used to our advantage when the time is right."

"What also doesn't make sense," Dani added, "is that Blake and Hunter were conveniently out riding when the Megazord fell."

"They were probably just out riding, like they said," Tori said.

"Tori, I know you like Blake," Dani said gently, "but you gotta admit: something isn't right about those guys."

"I-"

"I just hope these are under warranty," Dustin said, trying to prevent an argument. He hated chick fights.

Tori sighed. "I just feel totally helpless. There's gotta be something we can do."

"For now, you must return to your daily lives," Sensei ordered the four. "If Lothor suspects anything out of the ordrinary, it will only give him more power."

"And be careful," Cam said. "They've already stolen the Tsunami Cycle disk somehow. Whoever you speak to, make sure you trust them." They all nodded and left. Dani made sure not to talk to the Bradleys.

-NS-

Tori walked down the boardwalk, surfboard in hand. Blake and Hunter walked by her. "Hey," Blake said casually. Seeing she didn't respond, he frowned. "What? No hello?"

Tori turned to him. "Sorry," Tori smiled apologetically. "My mind's somewhere else."

"Yeah, rough day."

"Yeah," Tori's cheeks started to turn pink. "Thanks again for helping me out there."

Blake's smile turned into a grin. "Yeah, hey, don't mention it. Anytime."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tori said, still smiling.

"Yeah," Blake nodded.

Tori looked down. "I'll catch you later," she said before taking off.

Blake nodded. "Sure thing."

When Tori walked away, his brother smirked. "Wow. Smooth. You'll have to show me your moves sometime." Blake continued to then punch his brother.

-NS-

Dustin worked on his bike, trying to ease his mind. "Dude, you changed the oil like four times already." Shane told him, concerned.

The earth ninja shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know man. I just can't stop thinking of why those Thunder Punks just didn't destroy us when they had the chance you know?"

"Yeah," Shane nodded. Then he looked to the front of the store."Yo, check it out."

Hunter and Blake were there, talking to Kelly. "Hey Kel," Blake greeted her.

The redhead smiled. "Hey! Just fill these out before the race and we're good to go. And make sure your parents sign the-"

"We don't live with our parents." Hunter cut in.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kelly said, kind of offended

."Hey, don't sweat it," Blake smiled. "We'll get those forms back to you tomorrow okay?"

"Great, I'll see you out there then." Kelly said, back to her cheerful mood. "Cool." Hunter smiled, and they both left.

"Hey, I wanna see if they wanna hit the track later." Dustin said.

"No, I don't know man," Shane said said in a hushed tone; "Something about those guys."

"Come on, man!" Dustin said, putting his oily hand on Shane's shirt. Shane glared at him, scaring the earth ninja a bit. "Sorry dude I'll... yeah I gotta go."

"Yeah," Shane sighed, now oil on his favorite shirt.

"Hey!" Dustin yelled, following Hunter and Blake out of the shop. "Yo, guys, wait up!" When he walked behind the Storm Chargers van, the two were gone.

-NS-

Dani did what she normally did when she had something on her mind, which was doing something other than think about it. She was practicing her volleyball serves when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw the caller ID. "Hey bro."

" _Hey, Dan,"_ Tommy's voice rang through the speaker. " _How's it going?"_ Dani sighed. " _That good, huh?"_

"Pretty much," His sister nodded. "There's two other guys now giving the team grief, and they completely wrecked our tech. Now, we can literally do nothing until they get fixed."

" _Ouch."_

"And for some reason, they could've completely annihilated us, but they didn't," the ninja explained. "And that has been eating at all of us."

" _That probably means there's more to them than what meets the eye,"_ the former ranger said before laughing. " _Take it from experience."_

Dani laughed. She forgot his first time being a ranger was for evil. "You're probably right. Anyway, how's school finishing up?"

Tommy sighed. " _Doesn't seem like it's finishing up at all. And I still have to line up a job for after college."_

"Well, go with your gut," Dani encouraged. "It's right 85% of the time."

" _85%?"_

Dani chuckled. "Well, Tom, when you're wrong, you are so wrong."

" _Hey! You're no better!"_

The two were laughing so much that Dani forgot there were evil rangers. At least for a moment.

-NS-

Tori went out to surf as she usually did. What was unusual was that when she when she stepped in, all the water had vanished. She frowned. "What? The water.. What happened?"

Her answer hopped in front of her in the form of a monster. "Oooh! A ranger!" He smiled evilly. "How convenient! Time to make a splash!" Tori tried to morph, but she later realized that her morpher wasn't there. "Better hop to it!" the frog monster laughed, shooting lasers at Tori.. "Guess it's not Morphin' time after all is it? Low tide for you, Malibu Beach closer Ranger!"You're not afraid of a few warts, are you?"

Suddenly, Blake drove his bike into the monster. "Run! I'll distract him!"

"No! Don't!" Tori cried, but it was too late. When the monster tried again to hit Tori, Blake dove in front of her, taking the hit.

"No!" Tori screamed.

"So much water, so little time!" the frog said in a sing-song voice. "I'll catch you later, bye bye!"

-NS-

Tori ran into ops desperately. There she found Cam, working on a morpher. "Cam!" She yelled. "I need your help outside!"

Cam sighed. "Can't it wait? I've almost got the morphers back online."

"It's an emergency! My friend, he's hurt," Tori explained.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "And you brought him here? You ever hear of a hospital?"

"I know, I know, but he was hurt because of me. Please come look at him!" She begged. "It was one of Lothor's space freaks. We have to help him!"

Cam relented. "Alright." He put down what he was doing, and went outside. When they arrived, he took a very close look at the polytrons and took them off the biker.

"What are those things?" she asked him.

"They're some kind of cybernetic leech," Cam told her. "Looks like they dehydrate the human body until it shuts down."

"Well, did we get them off in time?" Tori asked.

He nodded. "I think so. This guy must drink a lot of water."

"His name's Blake," she corrected.

"I don't care what his name is," Cam snapped. "Dad's gonna flip when he finds out you brought him here. Dani and Shane would too."

Tori smiled sweetly. "Well, then maybe they shouldn't find out?" Cam rolled his eyes. She's lucky she was sweet and pretty.

"The red, yellow, white, and blue morphers are on the console inside. Go get them. I'll stay here."

She gave the boy a slight squeeze. "Thanks Cam." She walked through the portal and headed to Ops.

Little did Tori know that Blake watched her go in.

-NS-

Dustin took a look at his bike while explaining what happened with Blake and Hunter. "And when you got to the alley Blake and Hunter were gone?" Shane asked, bewildered.

"Yeah man," Dustin nodded.

"What's up with that?" Shane wondered.

"You know what?" Dustin thought standing up. "Maybe they're really master illusionists. You know, like that one guy on T.V who makes the tanks disappear. That would be cool, huh?"

Shane just shook his head at his friend.

Hunter ran up to the two."Hey, have you guys seen Blake?" he asked.

Shane mocked a shocked face. "Gee. Second time today he's just disappeared?"

Dustin shook his head. "No, man. Have you seen Dani? She was supposed to meet us here." Hunter shook his head also.

However, Tori pulled up in front of the track with Blake. "Listen," Blake said, "Thanks for what you did back there. I don't know what happened, guess I just blacked out." Blake smiled.

"Yeah, you took a nasty fall," Tori told him. "You're actually pretty lucky."

Blake sighed. "I feel like a chump. I mean, I tried to save you and you end up saving me instead."

Tori smiled. "Forget it. It's no big deal."

Hunter ran up to Tori's van. "Hey, what happened?" he asked his brother. "You alright?"

"Long story," Blake shrugged, opening the door. "Tell you later."

The two left Tori alone, smiling to herself.

-NS-

After Dustin finished riding, Tori walked over to her friends. "I've got your morphers, guys," she told them, "and I think we're gonna need them. Where's Dani?"

Shane shrugged. "I don't know. I tried to reach her earlier, but no response."

"I'm not too worried," Tori shrugged. "If all else fails, she's either at the beach or at ops."

The biker brothers walked up behind the rangers. "Hey," Hunter said. "I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of my bro."

Tori gave her usual sweet smile. "Anytime."

We owe you one," he continued, "and we always make good on our promises."

Tori nodded, still smiling. "Okay, good to know, thanks."

"We gotta get home." Blake said; "Parents. You know how it is." Shane and Dustin looked at each other. That didn't add up

"Yeah, okay," Tori said. "Catch you later."

When they left, Tori reached from her bag and grabbed the morphers. "Here. When you see Cam, say thank you. I think he's feeling a little unappreciated."

Dustin frowned. "Dude, they told Kelly they didn't live with their parents, right?" Dustin asked Shane. "I mean, that's what we heard."

Shane nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

Dani ran over to where the others were. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I was on the phone with my brother.

"Dude, you have a brother?" Shane asked while Dani took her morpher from Tori.

Dani nodded. "You guys should meet Tommy. He's a great fighting partner, too."

Speaking of fighting, the morphers beeped. _"I've located that frog again,"_ Cam said through the communicator. " _It's at the Riverbank. Hurry!"_

Dustin frowned. "Dude, if Cam wants a frog, let's just stop by the pet store. I mean, they've got like a tank, like, full of them."

Tori laughed. "I'll explain on the way. Ready?" The rangers nodded.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! WIND RANGER POWER!"

The rangers arrived at the Riverbank to find the monster Tori fought earlier. What they didn't expect is that he took the four rangers and dropped them into the water. He smirked. "I knew they'd make a splash!"

The rangers flipped out of the water.

"Put it on rewind!"

"I'm flipping out!"

"Lucky this is wash and wear!"

"That was so cool. Do it again?"

The three rangers stared at Dani. "Fine, nevermind!" The four used the ninja beams on the frog only to find he disappeared. Then the monster hopped out from behind, knocking all of the rangers down.

Suddenly, the Thunder Rangers appeared and attacked the frog, destroying him. "We're even, Wind Rangers," Crismon said, and they took off.

It all fit. Tori took care of Blake. Blake and Hunter destroyed their all _y._ " _We always make good on our promises,"_ Hunter had said. Dani kept her mouth shut. Now they were even.

The monster grew. "Hey Cam," Shane said, "guess what we need?"

" _Don't tell me,"_ Cam grumbled.

"Please and thank you!" Dani said sweetly. The zords arrived, and the rangers received a new weapon and took the fat frog down.

-NS-

"Blake and Hunter live on their own?" Tori frowned as the four headed into Ops.

"Yeah, that's what they told Kelly," Dustin remembered. "No parents."

"Blake and Hunter lied to me?" She said, still frowning. "Why?"

The Thunder Rangers came out from the corner, taking the computer guru with them.

"Let me take a wild guess," Dani growled. "Blake, Hunter, let Cam go!" They powered down, revealing their identities. Everyone was shocked but Cam and Dani.

"What do you want?" Dustin asked. "How did you get in here?"

"Ask her." Hunter smirked, referring to Tori.

"Blake?" she asked slowly, shocked.

"I'm sorry, but we had to find the Ninja Ops," Blake apologized, truly sorry for hurting the girl he liked. "I didn't mean to use you."

"If you hurt him, I will hunt you down," she said, choking up.

"Trust me Tor, not before I do," Dani glared at Blake. "You hurt my friend. I swear, I will hurt you. And if you even THINK about hurting Cam-"

"Leave him," Hunter said, throwing Cam to the rangers.

"We've got what we want. Goodbye, Rangers. And good luck in your future battles." In a puff of smoke, the two were gone.

Cam rushed towards Sensei's guinea pig house with Dani by his side. "This isn't good," Dani said, about to burst. Cam tore his glasses off in anger.

"Everyone alright?" Tori asked, recovered. The other two nodded.

"What did they want here?" Shane asked.

"My father," Cam replied, choking up himself. "They took my father."


	8. Thunder Strangers, Pt 3

_**A/N: Friends! I have returned with chapter 8! I didn't update yesterday due to shenanigans, but I'm updating now! Also, I added an episode that I didn't have in the previous version, so that'll be for tomorrow! I'll try to keep things up and going so I'm updating more frequently, but be patient with me. College is crazy.**_

 _ **Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. They seriously mean the world to this human. I'll see you all tomorrow! And as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Power Rangers at all. I own Dani alone.**

Chapter 8: Thunder Strangers, pt 3.

After Sensei was taken, the rangers did everything they could to help find Cam's father. Well, the girls and Cam did, anyway. Shane was thinking about the Thunders, while Dustin moped about how he didn't see it sooner."See, I knew there was something about Blake and Hunter," Shane said.

"Correction!" Dani piped in. "WE knew there was something wrong with them. Though I still don't get why'd they work for Lothor."

Dustin sighed. "You guys don't have to say 'I told you so', okay? I mean, I feel bad enough already."

"That's them." Cam exclaimed in a more hopeful tone; "My father enclosed himself in an energy sphere before he was captured. That will protect him and allow us to track his location within the 25 mile radius."

"But he can't transform or use his Ninja Powers, can he?" Shane asked.

"No," Cam frowned, "and he's about to go out of range."

Dustin was confused. "Why are they taking him out there to the middle of a forest?"

"Found it!" Tori yelled in triumph. "The Mountain of Lost Ninjas."

Cam's eyes widened, thinking about how he never considered it. "Of course!"

"Oh, thats where all those freaky ninja ghost dudes are, right?" Dustin inquired.

"So you do study your ninja history." Cam retorted.

"Sometimes." Dustin replied.

"Barely," Dani smirked, earning a glare from the earth ninja.

"But," Cam warned, "you should know that the Mountain of Lost Ninjas is where the Cavern of Spirits is."

"Which houses the Gem of souls." Tori continued. "It's the only thing on Earth that's powerful enough to break the energy sphere surrounding Sensei."

"Thats gotta be what the Thunders are after." Cam noted, fearing for his father.

"Then that's where we're going," Shane told the four. Together, they left and went on the search for Sensei.

-NS-

The Thunder Rangers walked through the woods with Sensei. Blake shuddered. "I don't know about you bro," he said, "but I'm not really digging this place."

"Don't be such a baby." Hunter smirked and continued on.

"You should be afraid Thunder Rangers," Sensei told them. There are spirits here of the darkest warriors the world has ever known."

"Quiet!" Hunter snapped. "We know what we're doing."

"Have you not learned that taking revenge on one who has caused you no harm makes you as guilty as the one who hurt you to begin with?" Sensei inquired.

"You killed our parents!" Hunter yelled. "Parents who adopted us and gave us a life! You deserve everything that's coming to you." The conversation stopped and the journey went on.

-NS-

Dani rode in the front of the mobile command center with Cam, who was stressed. "Tracking systems online," he said, his voice sad. Dani looked at him.

"Cam, you know this isn't your fault, right?" She asked the boy.

He sighed. "Dan, I could've stopped them."

She shook her head. "Cam, you're a great fighter. But the Thunders are too. And they have ranger powers. If it was me back there, I wouldn't have done any better. I bet your dad's proud of you." She placed her hand over her best friend's free one. "I know I am."

A smile crept on Cam's lips. That girl knew how to make him smile no matter what. He took her hand and squeezed. "Have I told you lately that you're amazing?"

She smiled back. "We're gonna get him back," she assured him.

"I know."

There was a silence that swept over the two, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Dani enjoyed sitting here, holding the hand of one of the people she cared the most for. Maybe the person.

"Uh, sorry to ruin the moment," Dustin said uncomfortably, "but how long til we get there?"

Cam rolled his eyes. "I told you to go before we left Ninja Ops."

"Not why I'm asking," Dustin said anxiously. "I'm just freaking here!"

"Since when are you not freaking?" Dani joked, getting another glare from Dustin. She laughed, squeezed Cam's hand once more, and got on the white Tsunami Cycle.

Meanwhile, Tori sat on her Tsunami Cycle, thinking about what she had done. She couldn't believe that the guy she liked had been the one trying to kill her. She thought he was a good guy. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Shane spoke from behind her. "Hey, Tori. It wasn't your fault."

She frowned. "Then whose was it?"

"You were just doing what you thought was right," he soothed. "It could've happened to any one of us." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and got on his Tsunami cycle.

"He's right, Tor," Dani assured her. "You're a sweet person, and Blake's gonna regret he took that for granted." Tori gave the white ninja a grateful smile.

Cam got up from his spot. "This is as far as I go," he told the four, taking off his glasses. "The rest is up to you. Please find my father." The rangers nodded and rode their bikes into the wilderness. Cam smiled. He realized the three primary colors were growing on him Maybe these goofs could do this after all. And maybe they could even stop Lothor.

-NS-

The brothers walked along with Sensei. Hunter walked comfortably, knowing he'd finally bring his parents' killer to justice. Blake, however, was getting agitated. "How much further?" He asked.

"Almost there," Hunter replied.

"Good."

Suddenly, sounds of moaning came from everywhere. It almost sounded like undead. "Did you hear that?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Hunter said. As they continued, the souls of the Lost Ninjas appeared in front of them. "Okay, bro," Hunter said and put down Sensei.

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM! POWER OF THUNDER!"

Hunter picked up Sensei, and the two rangers fought the Lost Ninjas, but they kept coming back. Sensei frowned."Put me down, I said!"

When the ninjas had captured the Thunders, blasters knocked them down. Blake and Hunter looked up, finding the Winds on the Tsunami cycles. When they had stopped, Dustin frowned. "Whoa. Who do we fight?"

"Anyone not wearing a primary color?" Shane suggested. "Or a shade!" Dani added, knowing she was technically not a color.

"Good plan," Tori said before ninjas knocked her down.

The rangers fought the ninjas, who didn't stop fighting.

"Stay close," Hunter told his brother. "This is crazy!" Blake exclaimed.

"I'll take that!" Dustin smiled, snatching Sensei from Hunter. "You okay?" he asked the rodent.

Before he could answer, he was again out of the Winds' hands. "Not for long!" Blake grinned, taking Sensei back. He threw Sensei over to his brother, who kept it.

After fighting the Ninjas, the rangers were tired. "These guys are fearless." Shane said

"They're dead," Tori retorted. "It's not like they have a lot to lose."

"So that would leave the glass half empty right?" Dustin asked.

Dani stopped. "You guys keep fighting," she whispered. "I'll look for the gem." The three nodded, and she went on her way on her Tsunami Cycle.

"How about a truce?" Shane suggested. "Let's do this together!"

"Fine by me." Hunter nodded. "But only for now."

With the teamwork of the Thunder and Wind Rangers, the Lost Ninja Spirits were gone in no time.

"That was great teamwork!" Sensei praised.

"You rock, bro!" Dustin told Blake, smiling.

"Don't call me bro!" Blake snapped, twisting Dustin's arm.

"Blake!" Tori frowned, but Blake shoved her.

"Good one." Shane said.

"Yeah right!" Hunter yelled, elbowing Shane in the gut before turning to his brother. "Let's go."

"We're outta here," Blake smirked, streaking off. The Winds were right on their tails.

After catching up, the five fought. "Where's White?" Hunter asked, smirking.

"More importantly," Dustin said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Simple. Revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Shane asked. Before the Thunders could answer, the ground shook, and a megazord grew. "Is that-?"

"Zurgane!" Tori frowned.

"Hey, who gave him keys to a zord, huh?" Dustin asked.

"That'll keep them busy," Hunter said, and the two left.

Cam sighed. " _Guys, they're getting away!"_

"Not again!" Dustin whined.

"You guys go after them," Tori told the two. "I'll keep Zurgane busy."

"Right," The boys nodded and ran after the Thunder Rangers.

"Partying without me, Tor?" The white ranger said, coming up behind Blue. "Now that's just rude."

Tori smiled. "Feel free to join. Cam, how 'bout those Zords?"

" _On their way."_

Dani and Tori hopped into their Zords, using power disks to control the megazord by themselves.

-NS-

Meanwhile, Shane and Dustin were fighting a losing battle over Sensei. One minute, Dustin would have him, the next Blake, the next Hunter. When the sphere was out of all of their hands, the rangers started fighting each other for themselves. Again, they were losing.

"Your sensei destroyed our parents," Blake said. "Yeah," Hunter agreed, picking up the energy sphere, "and now it's payback time." The two walked away.

"Dude, they can't be right!" Dustin frowned.

"It's a lie!" Shane exclaimed.

Remembering what Cam had said, Shane used his air assault to steal Sensei back. "Got him!" Shane beamed, and the two Wind Rangers took off.

-NS-

Dani and Tori were having a rough time fighting Zurgane's Megazord. He denied almost all of their attacks, while hitting the Storm Megazord with all of his. Now the Storm Megazord was on the ground, falling apart.

"C'mon, Tor, we got this!" Dani said, wanting to beat this poser into bits.

"You're right," Tori nodded. "Zurgane, you're through ruining our day!"

Combining Power Spheres 5 and 6, Zurgane's robot exploded. "I'll be back," he growled, ejecting.

The two rangers congratulated each other and went to find the boys.

-NS-

"I think we lost 'em," Shane said, out of breath. "Thank goodness," Sensei told the two. Shane grinned. "You're alright now, Sensei."

"Hey, guys!" Tori said, waving to the other two.

"You missed an awesome Zurgane bash!" Dani yelled.

Tori looked at the object in Shane's hands. "You got him! Excellent!" The four rangers high-fived. "You okay, Sensei?" Dani asked.

"My stomach is a little queezy," Sensei admitted, "but yes, Danielle, I am fine."

Thunder rumbled, and one Navy Ranger appeared. "Mind if I cut in?" He growled and started attacking the Wind Rangers.

"Not again!" Sensei cried, rolling away in his sphere.

"Thunderstorm Cannon!" Hunter yelled, aiming for all five of the rangers. "C'mon Blake," Hunter muttered. "Get out of the way."

"I can't," Blake replied. "Just take your shot!"

"Not if I can help it!" Dani said, kicking the weapon out of his hands. Using her Swan Staff, Dani attacked Hunter with force.

"I can't believe I liked you," Hunter snapped, earning a kick in the stomach.

"You just don't like me 'cos I'm a girl kicking your butt," Dani smirked.

When he was down, Dani took the Thunderstorm Cannon, trying to hit Blake. "Guys, move!"

"We can't!" Tori cried.

"Do it!" Dustin yelled.

"Here goes nothing. Fire!" The blast hit all four of the rangers, and Sensei rolled to her.

"Thanks," Hunter smirked, knocking Dani down, taking the weapon and Sensei. "Blake!"

"I'm okay,"Navy reassured his brother, limping over.

"We got what we came for," Hunter said. "Let's bail."

Blake laughed maniacally. "Later," he said, disappearing in a flash of lightning.

Shane growled. "Man, I can't stand those guys!"

"Dani!" Dustin yelled. "Are you okay?" "Besides pissed to the max?" Dani growled. "Yeah. I'm fine."

-NS-

"The Ninja Spirits sense our presence," Sensei warned.

Blake and Hunter stopped. "The Cavern," Blake said, waiting for this moment.

"Consider what you are about to do carefully," Sensei continued. "There are powerful forces here."

"Quiet," Hunter snapped. "The Gem of Souls will take care of you."

-NS-

"Hunter and Blake think Sensei destroyed their parents," Shane told Tori, Dani, and Cam, back in the command center.

"What?!" Dani exclaimed. "Why would they think that?"

"I don't know," Shane shrugged. "But there's no way he could do something like that!"

"Of course he couldn't," Cam agreed, getting irritated. "My father has only ever fought in self defense. He teaches his students respect, decency, virtue."

"We know that." Tori assured him. "We don't believe those lies any more than you do."

Cam sighed. "I don't know what to do." Shane put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "I do." "Just be careful," Cam instructed.

"I'll stay here with Cam," Dani told the three. "Good luck, you guys." They nodded before streaking off to the Cavern of Spirits. She then turned to Cam. "Are you finally learning to appreciate them, Cam?"

Cam rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I want all four of them to come back in one piece."

Dani pulled the distressed boy into a hug. "I know. And they will."

-NS-

The Wind Rangers, minus Dani, walked into the Cavern of Spirits only to find Hunter about to destroy Sensei.

"NO!" Shane cried. "Put it down. Sensei didn't do anything."

"Lothor told us everything." Hunter said, glaring at the three. "Your Sensei destroyed our parents." Blake said again."Lothor saw the whole thing."

Tori scoffed. "And you believed him?"

"Why shouldn't we?" Hunter asked.

"Well dude, he's not exactly known for being one of the good guys." Dustin explained as if it was obvious.

"We're done talking!" Hunter said, about to pierce through the sphere with the Gem of Souls. Before he could, however, two spirits appeared in the cavern.

"Put it down Hunter," the female ordered.

"Who are you?" Shane asked.

"Mom? Dad?" Hunter asked, tears forming in his eyes. "How did you-?"

"This is the Mountain of lost Ninjas," His dad explained. "We'll be here for all eternity."

"Because of him, right?" Blake accused.

"No Blake," their mom answered. "He's not responsible for what happened to us."

"Well, then who is?" Hunter demanded.

"The one they call Lothor." Mr. Bradley told them.

"Now theres a shock," Tori said sarcastically.

"They're fading!" Hunter frowned.

"No, wait! Come back!" Blake yelled.

"We'll always be looking after you." Mrs. Bradley assured them.

"Make us proud." their father added, disappearing with his wife.

"Come back," Hunter cried silently.

"What a sight," Lothor smirked behind them. "The Thunder Rangers crying for their mommy. My ears were burning. You've been talking about me, haven't you?"

"It was you all along!" Hunter snapped. "You lied to us!"

"Not the brightest bulbs on the tree are you?" Lothor retorted. "Now give me the hamster. We've got business to attend to."

"Actually dude, he's a guinea pig," Dustin pointed out.

"And we're not giving him to you." Shane scowled.

"Then I'll take him." Lothor said with an evil grin.

"Hello?" Tori said. "Lot's of us, and one of you."

"Oh, please," Lothor grumbled and fired a laser at the five. On instinct, Hunter rolled in front of his brother and reflected the laser with the Gem of Souls. Lothor cried out and vanished.

"What happened?" Tori asked when they saw Lothor was gone.

"Dude, you nailed Lothor!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Whoa," Hunter said in wonder.

"Man, how'd you do that?" Shane asked.

"The gem of souls, it's broken,"Hunter replied. "I used it to protect us, but it shattered."

"That's bad right?" Dustin said.

"For better or worse," Sensei told the five, getting rid of the Energy sphere, "the powers of the gem cannot be destroyed Dustin."

"Speaking of power, what happened to Lothor?" Tori asked.

"I suspect he is very much alive, and I fear, more desperate than ever." Sensei said. "Where is Danielle?"

"In the Command Center with your son," Dustin replied.

"Then, shall we join her?"

-NS-

Tori and Dani sat on the beach, telling Dani of the events that happened that day. "Wow," Dani said when she was finished. "Now Hunter and Blake aren't rogue anymore?"

Tori shook her head. "No, we're all good now."

"Thank God," Dani said, relieved. "I was getting tired of fighting those two."

Tori frowned. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I was too busy crushing on Blake." Her eyes widened. "Did I really just say that?"

The brunette chuckled. "It was obvious, anyway. And don't sweat it, Tor. If I didn't know better, I would've done the same thing."

"What would you have done the same?" A familiar voice said. The two girls turned around, finding Hunter and Blake in their ninja uniforms with heavy backpacks.

"Hey," Tori said cheerfully. "Going somewhere?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah," Blake replied, his voice kind of sad.

"Where are you going?" Dani asked. "Don't know, really," Hunter told her. " All we know is that we're getting away from here. We've done enough."

"Will we see you again?" Tori asked nervously.

Blake smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Definitely." He hugged Dani."No more mutual hate?" He asked.

Dani shook her head and grinned. "Nah. Friends?"

"Definitely," he told her. "We are really sorry though. We didn't intend on hurting you."

Tori smiled. "We know."

"So," Hunter said awkwardly. "About what I said-"

Dani laughed. "Which way did you mean that, by the way?"

Hunter shrugged. "Honestly, a little bit of both." He stepped closer. "How do you feel?"

The brunette sighed. "Honestly, I do understand, but it'll take me awhile to get over all the hurt before I even think about a relationship."

"I get it," Hunter hung his head.

Dani smiled and held out her arms. "I am ready to stop fighting and be friends though. Whatdya say?"

Hunter smiled back and walked into the hug. "I think I'm okay with that."

"Well, we should go," Blake said. "Tell everyone we said goodbye."

"We will," Dani promised. "Take care, okay?"

"We will."

The four went their separate ways. "So how long do you think we'll be gone?" Blake asked.

"Why?" Hunter replied. "You gotta reason to come back?"

Blake nodded. "We both do.

-NS-

Dani walked by the academy to where Cam and his father were standing. She rested her elbow on his shoulder and greeted him. "What's going on?"

"We're getting rid of the Gem of Souls for good," Cam told her, sighing. "Are you sure about this?" he asked his father.

"The Gem of Souls is dangerous, Cam," Sensei reminded him. "In the wrong hands it could bring harm to countless innocent people."

Cam stood and threw the shattered pieces of the gem into the ocean. "The gem has taught the Thunder Rangers that revenge is never the answer," his father continued. "But there are those who have yet to learn that lesson."

"He's not through with us is he?" Cam questioned. "Lothor?" Sensei frowned. "No. Far from it I fear."

Dani smiled. "We can stop him, Sensei," she reassured the rodent. "I hope so, Danielle," Sensei sighed.

-NS-

"Here you go." Shane told his customer. He looked up to find Kelly and Dustin. "Hey how'd the race go?"

"Could have been better." Kelly huffed.

"Blake and Hunter didn't show." Dustin told him

"But I thought they were all set!" Shane said in disbelief.

"So did I," Kelly frowned.

Tori entered the shop with a confused expression as she saw Kelly. "What's up with her?"

"Blake and Hunter blew the race off." Shane explained.

"Yeah..." Tori said, frowning. "I know."

"Wait you know, oh what happened?" Dustin asked.

"Are they coming back?" Shane added.

"They're gone," she said simply.

"Gone?" Shane exclaimed. "Where?"

Tori shrugged. "Not sure. They said to say goodbye."

They stood in silence, wishing the Thunders wouldn't have left. And not just for Kelly's sake, but for the sake of the world.


	9. Nowhere to Grow

_**A/N: And as promised, here is Chapter 9! Hope you all like it! Keeping it short because where I am, it's a Monday morning. But as always, review review review!**_

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _Paige_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but Dani.**

Chapter 9: Nowhere to Grow

Late one night, Shane needed someone to do some recording for his demo. So, he thought it'd be a great idea to have Dustin record him, have him borrow Cam's night vision camera without asking, and have Tori drive them around. Dani was busy finishing training, however, and did not participate. Dustin loved the shots he was getting of Shane, but Tori was not happy being their ride.

"Can we go now, please?" She whined, staying in the vehicle. "I've got homework to do, and Sensei is gonna freak if he finds out we're out this late."

Shane sighed. Girls were so impatient. "C'mon, Tori! Just 5 more minutes. C'mon, dude, I nearly landed it."

Tori glared at him. "Not to mention what Cam's gonna say when he finds out you took his night vision camera.

Dustin kept filming the air ninja. "Yeah yeah, keep going, man," Dustin encouraged. "Looks sick, dude!"

However, dustin frowned and put down Cam's camera. Shane stopped skateboarding. "What are you doing?"

Dustin shrugged. "What? You don't want those Kelzaks there in your skate video." He laughed, forgetting he was a power ranger for a few seconds, and continued to play with the camera.

Shane turned around, his eyes widening. He picked up his skateboard and started sprinting towards the minions. "Tori, c'mon!" Tori nodded, got out of her van, and ran too. "Dustin!"

The earth ninja nodded, still playing with the camcorder as he ran. "This will look great for your video, dude!"

When they arrived where the Kelzaks were, they watched them drop seeds into the ground. Tori smirked. "Hey, we heard there was a garden party."

"Yeah, we were kinda bummed we weren't invited," Dustin added.

Shane grinned. "You mind if we crash?"

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

The fight began well, the rangers kicking the Kelzaks' rear end, per usual. However, something grabbed Shane by the legs and dragged him. The alien beamed. "Look what I've got!"

"Hey, watch the suit, bud!" Shane yelled.

"It's Florabundacus," the plant monster corrected.

"Nice name," Shane retorted in disgust. "Parents didn't like you much, huh?" Red continued to try and attack Flora, but she kept teleporting and ended up sending Shane to the ground.

"Hey!" Dustin shouted, running in front of his fallen friend.

"You okay?" Tori asked as she helped him up.

Before Shane could respond, Flora spoke; "Hope you don't have allergies," she grinned evilly before sending them a pollen-like attack.

"Woah, this flower's nothing to sneeze at," Shane said, having a hard time getting up again.

"Time to make like a plant and leaf!" The flower quipped before transporting away.

"There she goes! The seeds!" Shane realized before running at the area the Kelzaks were digging at.

Before they could make it, Cam beeped in on the communicator. " _Rangers, my father would like a word with you."_

"Aw, busted," Shane groaned, dreading what came next.

-NS-

Later, the three entered Ninja Ops unsteadily. Cam turned away from his computer.

"Oh man," Dustin groaned. "I can't believe we got stalked by celery."

"Here's a thought," Cam noted to the rangers as he took his camera back from the earth ninja. "Maybe you're not getting enough sleep."

Sensei turned to the rangers. "I must see those seeds," he told them as Tori put them on the patio of his hut. "We will discuss why you were out late on a school night another time."

"I'd hate to be in your skate shoes," Cam snickered, knowing what his father's punishments were like.

Shane rolled his eyes. "Dude, shouldn't you be cleaning some ancient scrolls or something?" he snapped, earning a glare from Cam.

"Since when has Lothor been into gardening?" Tori thought out loud.

Sensei tapped on the seeds with his staff, bringing an unpleasant odor into the room. All the faces in the room turned into ones of disgust.

"Dude," Dustin frowned.

"Whoa," Shane agreed, bringing his hand up to his nose. "That has some serious stank, man!"

Tori smirked. "Smells like Dustin after ninja training."

Dustin laughed. "Hey, yeah it does!"

A sleepy Dani emerged from a hallway in Ops. "Cam, what is that-" She looked and saw the rangers. "Oh. Hey friends."

Shane shook his head. "Did you fall asleep here after training again?" She bashfully nodded.

"Dude, give yourself a break at home," Dustin said, putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"It's a work in progress," she said, sticking her tongue out. "Anyway, what are you all doing here so late?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "A discussion for a different time. We've got bigger problems." She referred to the stinking seeds.

"Is that what that smell was?" Dani shuddered. "Smells like sweaty earth ninja."

"Yeah," Shane nodded. "Hey Sensei, what are those?"

The ninja master shook his head. "I'm not certain. I have an acquaintance, Dr. Belrab. He's an expert on exotic plants. In the morning, you must visit him at his botanical laboratory."

Cam piped up. "Why don't I go?" he eagerly asked. "This may require someone who actually has a clue about botany."

Shane chuckled. "Dude, just so you know, not a very good pickup line."

Tori punched the red ninja. "Shane, come on."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, Shane, some girls appreciate a guy who actually knows what he's talking about."

Cam smiled. "Thank you, Dani."

"That's enough, all of you," Sensei said with a firmness in his voice. "Return home. You must be alert for tomorrow." Tori, Dustin, and Shane slowly walked out while Dani stayed behind. "And Cam, be careful how you chose to get involved," he added.

Cam sighed at his protective father. "Dad, I can help."

"And you always do," Sensei nodded."

"No, I mean REALLY help," the boy in green affirmed. "I'm tired of sitting around, doing nothing."

"I have my reasons," Sensei told him. "I want you here." Cam sighed and took off toward his bedroom.

Dani walked up to Sensei's hut awkwardly. "Am I still okay to stay here?" She asked the guinea pig.

He nodded. "You are always welcome," he said to the ninja student." He looked towards where his son had taken off to. "Just keep an eye on him for me."

Dani smiled. "It's part of my best friend job description," she assured him. "You know I will."

"Is that all it is?" Sensei said with a twinkle in his eye.

Dani stopped. She never thought about it. But now that she was...

She shook her head. "Goodnight Sensei," she bowed respectfully, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

-NS-

Cam didn't listen to his father, however, and soon was out of ops and into Dr. Belrab's greenhouses. After he introduced himself to the botanist, he asked about the strange seeds. "Have you ever seen one of these before?" He asked.

"Ah yes," Dr. Belrab nodded. "It's called a Sudima plant. It's very-" He stopped to put his glasses on. "Ah, yes. Very rare. It's from the same family as the venus flytrap, only with a SLIGHTLY more aggressive nature."

"How aggressive?" Cam wondered."

"Well, fully grown, this plant will devour anything in its path," he said excitedly.

The sensei's son's eyes widened, and he let out a sigh. "I think we may have a problem."

The expert laughed. "Oh don't worry, they're harmless," he assured him. "Unless they're fertilized with a special nutrient bath. Mineral water with a kick, so to speak."

"Where do you get this special water?" Cam questioned, taking off his glasses.

Belrab thought about it. "Well, there's a volcanic spring to the north of here which produces a similar combination of minerals and phosphates."

The springs Belrab spoke of rang a bell with Cam. "You're talking about Turner Springs!"

"Yes," the botanist continued, "I've been experimenting with the waters on some of my plants here. Of course, the trek is too dangerous for me to make often." He grinned. "I've got giant corns to worry about."

Cam frowned in confusion, but he looked behind Belrab to see a few literal massive stalks of corn. "Oh. yeah." He shouted a "thanks before leaving the greenhouse.

As the boy made his way out, Tori pulled up in front of it with the three other rangers. They managed to see a glimpse of him before he walked off.

"Hey, was that-?" Shane frowned.

Dustin looked to Tori. "Dude, when was the last time we saw Cam leave Ninja Ops?"

"Before we knew about Ninja Ops," Dani replied, concerned. "Cam, what are you doing?"

"Should we call Sensei and see what's going on?" She asked the three.

"No," Dani warned. "That'll just create more drama between him and his father, as well as him and us."

Shane nodded. "She's probably right. She knows him better than we do." He turned to the two other primary colors. "You two go and talk to the plant guy. We'll follow Cam. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Alright."

"Okay."

"Fine."

-NS-

Tori and Dustin walked into the greenhouse to not only find a man, but a woman also standing there. "Excuse me," Tori said sweetly. "We're looking for Dr. Belrab."

"Yeah," the man frowned. "Dr. Belrab's a little tied up right now, but we'd be happy to help. I'm Proffessor Tree Lovin and this is my assistant-"

"Ms. Root," the lady chimed in enthusiastically, shaking the rangers' hands. "Flora Root."

Dustin smiled. "You know, my sister's vegetarian," he told the two, "and she would freak if she saw this place."

Tori noticed a bright flower. "Hey, what's this?"

Root smiled. "This is a blossom used for perfume. You want to smell?"

Dustin went to smell the flower, but Tori frowned, looking closer at their faces. She stopped Dustin. "Hey, I know you two. You're-" Before she could continue to identify them as Marah and Kapri, gas from the "flower" entered their system, knocking them unconcious.

-NS-

Cam wandered through the wilderness of Blue Bay Harbor until he located Turner Springs, not knowing Dani and Shane were behind him.

"I feel awful about this, Shane," Dani muttered.

Shane rolled his eyes. "You want to keep him safe, right?" She nodded."Then come on!"

She sighed. "You go, I'll make sure no one's on your trail, either." Shane nodded, moving with the boy in green.

The said boy in green had made his way up a tree above the springs. He lowered a vial into the spring of the mineral waters, collected a sample, and raised it. "That should be enough," he told himself before getting up. When he got up, however, he was surrounded by Kelzaks. He jumped off of the tree, landing two in the waters. He fought off several more, Shane viewing how capable he was at handling himself. Which was pretty capable.

However, the Kelzaks multiplied in number, so Shane thought he'd help. He flipped into the action, landing by Cam.

"What are you doing here?" Cam asked, annoyed.

"Hey, good question," Shane smirked. "But you first."

Cam rolled his eyes. However, they kept attacking. One Kelzak snuck with a water bottle towards the springs. "They're after the water," Cam told the red ranger. "We've got to stop them."

"Allow me," Dani chimed, flipping over a few Kelzaks. She kicked the water bottle away and gave the minion a nice roundhouse kick, finishing him off. The three met up afterwards, once the Kelzaks had disappeared. She turned to her best friend. "You good?"

Cam rolled his eyes. "Fine, thanks," he snapped.

Shane was still awestruck. "Where did you learn how to fight like that?" He asked the sensei's son.

"His father is a ninja master," Dani retorted. "And he's taught longer than Cam's been alive. Where do you think?"

"No need to be snarky," Shane replied. "I'm just surprised." He turned to Cam, giving him a friendly punch. "Didn't know you had it in you."

Cam sighed. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Shane."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Shane rhetorically questioned.

Dani knew a nerve was hit. "Shane. Stop."

Cam glared at him. "I got to get the sample back," he told the air ninja simply.

Shane tried a new angle. "Hey, what are you going to tell your dad?"

"Don't worry about my father," Cam stated. "I'll handle him."

Shane shook his head. "Nobody handles Sensei." Cam ignored him and walked away from the springs.

"I got this," Dani told her friend. "Go check on the others." Shane nodded and headed back to where Tori parked. When Dani caught up to Cam, she spoke, "You might've been a little harsh on Shane."

"It's none of his business," Cam said, continuing walking. "And it's none of yours, either."

"Like hell it's not," Dani chuckled. "Cam, no need to be mad at your father. He's only doing what he does because he cares about you. And so do I."

"Well, you should know you both have nothing to worry about."

"You're his son," she reminded him. "And I'm your best friend. We won't stop worrying about you no matter what. Because neither of us want to lose you."

Cam stopped and looked back at her. Her brown eyes were kind, as they always were, but they also spoke volumes of concern. He took her hand and pulled her in for a hug. "Trust me," Cam told her. "You're not going to. Ever."

She smiled and looked up at him, seeing truth in his eyes. And maybe something else, but she wasn't sure. "Promise?" She held out her pinky.

He laughed as he shook it with his own. "Promise. Now, I let you deal with your stuff. Can you let me deal with mine?"

Dani nodded, letting go of him. "Go. Be careful." He made his way out of the woods and towards his home.

-NS-

Back at the greenhouse, the two rangers lay on the ground, their wrists tied up in vines. Tori woke from her unconscious state and realized something was the matter. She elbowed Dustin. "Wake up." He came to, realizing the situation. Tori struggled. "What's happening?"

Dustin tried to unbind himself to no success. "See," he whined, "Now, this is what happens when you play with your food."

Tori sighed, thinking to herself. "I think I can get us out of here," she told him. She focused her powers on a little pond in the middle of the greenhouse, rising it to a beam of sunlight. The same beam was used to try and cut through the vines, but it hit the earth ninja instead.

"OW!" Dustin yelled. "HOT! Cut it out!"

Tori chuckled. "Sorry! A little adjustment." She aimed higher towards the vines, the beam starting to burn through them.

-NS-

Cam returned to Ops, trying to get past his father. Sensei, however, noticed, and was not the happiest guinea pig. "You deliberately went against my wishes by going off on your own," he stated. "I'm terribly disappointed in you, Cam."

Cam sighed. "How did you know?"

Sensei turned towards him. "I'm a ninja master and your father," he reminded his son. Not a good combination if you're trying to pull a fast one. Son, I always knew this day would come. It's in your blood."

"I have nothing against Shane or Tori or Dustin," he said, the three actually growing on him. "And you know how I feel about Dani. They've come a long way, but I know I could help. And not just in here, but out there."

"As a power ranger, perhaps?" Sensei asked.

Cam frowned, knowing it couldn't be hidden. "Yes, as a power ranger. I don't see why you can't-"

"Cam," Sensei cut in. "You could be the bravest ranger of them all."

The boy was confused. "Then why didn't you choose me?"

Sensei shook his head. "I am forbidden by a promise that was made many years ago."

"A promise? To who?"

"When your mother fell ill, I swore to protect you from harm," his father explained, turning to"

the picture of his late wife. "She knew only too well that a ninja's life is one of constant danger.

"You made that promise when I was a helpless child," Cam argued.

"There is nothing more sacred than a promise made to a loved one."

"Mother would want this for me," Cam continued. "She would want me to fulfill my potential."

Sensei frowned. "Unfortunately, we will never know. I'm sorry" He made it clear his decision was final, leaving Cam to walk off. However, neither of them noticed the seeds started to grow, dipping themselves into the mineral waters.

-NS-

The beam of light continued to burn through the plants that bound the earth and water ninjas. "C'mon," Tori whined. "Almost there!" The vines finally broke, freeing the ninjas.

"About time," Dustin muttered.

Tori rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a thanks."

"You know what I meant," Dustin said, giving her a thankful look. "Okay, let's get out of here. Sensei needs to know about this freaky plant thing A.S.A.P."

"Yeah," Tori nodded, both of them crawling their way out of the greenhouse. However, before they could get out, they heard noises of groaning. The two hopped up and went to investigate, finding Dr. Belrab hanging from vines of his own.

"That must be Dr. Belrab," Dustin stated.

Tori smirked. "I figured that out."

"No, actually, it says there on his nametag," Dustin pointed out.

"Yeah," Tori scoffed. "Help me get him down." The yellow ninja found a pair of hedge clippers and started cutting at the top. "Not there!" She said it too late, sending the botanist to the ground.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Dustin apologized.

The doctor didn't seem to mind. After he got up, he told the rangers, "A terrible creature is growing the Sudima plant in my basement."

Dustin's eyes widened. "Okay, go get help!" He said, running towards the basement with Tori, leaving Belrab to trip over his bonds.

When the rangers arrived in the basement, they saw where the plants had been growing. Dustin crinkled his nose. "Dude, it's that smell again," he told Tori, even though she had been made aware already.

"It's some sort of Nursery," she stated. They continued down the stairs, seeing two flowers growing inside murky water.

"Oh man," Dustin frowned. "What would grow in that water? It is gnarly!"

Before the rangers could investigate further, the monster they had fought previously had shown up. "Greetings," Florabundacus said. Those are my flower children, so you might want to back off before I put my petals to your metal! Can you dig it?"

The plants had tried to attack them, but they failed before the rangers could morph.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

The plants immediately afterward wrapped around the rangers. "Whoa, get off me!" Dustin said, swinging his ninja sword around at them.

Tori did the same. "This just doesn't cut it!"

Flora laughed. "Sprout, my children! It's time to pollinate the population! Grow babies, grow!"

The plants had grown taller than the greenhouse, swinging Tori and Dustin around like ragdolls.

Back at ops, Sensei and Cam watched from the monitor. "Quickly, Cam!" Sensei told his son.

"Let me go!" Cam begged. "I can help them!"

"No. Send Shane and Dani."

Cam sighed and contacted the other rangers. "Cam for Shane. Cam for Dani." He didn't notice the plants were still growing behind them.

-NS-

Dani and Shane were at Storm Chargers when they got the call. They walked to the side. "What's up, Cam?" Dani asked.

" _The others are in trouble!"_

Shane nodded, and looking to Dani. "On it." The two made their way to the dressing room stalls in the store to ranger up.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

The two streaked and ran over to where the yellow and blue rangers were. "Guys!" Shane yelled.

They were still being thrown around by the monster plant. Tori looked over and waved. "Oh. Hi Shane! Hi Dani!"

"Any day now!" Dustin yelled, reaching to cut the vines.

"I got it," Dani nodded. "Swan Staff!" She threw her staff around like a boomerang, going so fast so it could cut the vines. However, it came back, and the rangers were still hanging.

"Lemme try," Shane insisted. "Hawk Blaster!" He tried to shoot the vines, but nothing happened. "What? It didn't even make a dent!" The plants continued to attack the two unbound rangers, knocking them to the ground.

"Cam, you got anything?" Dani whined, struggling to get up.

"We're in trouble here!" Shane added.

"Rangers are down!" Cam told his father before realizing the plant had grown and taken him. The plant had attacked him too. "These are some vicious vines!" He said, fighting off the plant before making his way back to his computer. "It says here until they destroy the primary plant, we won't be able to stop its offspring." He punched a vine that had tried to grab his hand. "Guys! I've been working on some programs to increase the tensile strength of your ninja sword blades. Prepare to download!" He said as he sent the program to the rangers' swords.

"Got it," Dani affirmed, removing her sword from its sheath.

"Me too," Shane nodded. "One chopped salad coming up!"

"I hope there's lots of cheese and croutons!" Dani added. Shane looked at her. "What?"

"NINJA SWORDS! POWER UP!" The two had cut each vine until they reached the flower. "She loves me, she loves me not," Shane joked as he cut the blossom.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Great, you're gonna get me thinking again." She and shane struck the last art of the flower before landing back on the ground, leaving the plant to explode. "Yeah!"

Tori, Dustin, and Sensei all were released from the vines. Cam smiled. "Great job, guys. Everyone okay there?"

Shane nodded. "Yeah, Cam, we're fine. Thanks to you."

Dani grinned. "Good work, genius, I'm proud of you." This comment brought a tint of pink to Cam's cheeks.

Back on the battlefield, Florabundacus emerged from the basement."Why, you!" she spat. "You destroyed my plant! That bums me out!" However, she herself was bummed out when she was destroyed by both the Storm Striker and the Megazord.

-NS-

The four returned to Ninja Ops, the three primaries realizing their punishment had come at last. "Come on, Sensei," Shane begged.

"We never would've found those seeds if we hadn't been out late," Tori told him.

"I have taken that into consideration," Sensei told them. "Nonetheless, breaking rules cannot go unnoticed. Everyone, ten mile jog please."

Everyone started whining. "Sensei," Dani said. "I didn't do anything."

"I thought you would like it," Sensei smiled. "You usually jog fifteen."

She grinned. "Touche. C'mon, guys!" She yelled, running out, the three other rangers following her and grumbling.

"I said everyone," Sensei specified, looking at his son.

Cam frowned. "Me? What did I do?"

"Besides sneaking out, fighting Kelzaks, and disobeying my direct orders?"

Cam nodded, knowing his father was right. "How old does someone have to be to do whatever they want?" He asked.

"No one has ever lived that long, Cam," he told the boy. "Now go." Before Cam left, he added; "When you return, we will discuss your future training."

A grin broke on Cam's face. "Training? But what about your promise?"

"There are other ways besides that of the ninja," the master explained. Cam dashed out, thinking about the endless possibilities of his future training.


	10. Return of Thunder, Pt 1

**_A/N: Hey all! Thanks for all the reviews on Chapter 9! It makes me happy you love the story so much! Without further ado, Here's chapter 10! Feel free to message me if you have any input about how to make the story better, or need a virtual hug. I can give those too._**

 ** _And as always, review review review!_**

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _-Paige_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Power Rangers. I own Dani Oliver. And her jeep.**

 **Chapter 10: Return of Thunder, pt. 1**

Tori, Dustin, and Dani sat in the Storm Chargers' lounge area as they watched a tape of Dustin riding. They watched in awe as he shred through the track. "Sweet moves!" Dani grinned, high-fiving Dustin.

"Yeah, you look really good out there!" Tori agreed.

"Now all I gotta do it get some Factory dudes to see the tape," Dustin frowned, doubting it'll ever happen.

"Oh c'mon, Dustin," Dani reassured his friend. "You're like a pro out there. Who wouldn't want you?"

A man walked up behind the teens. "Hi there," he greeted. "I'm looking for Kelly Holloway."

"She's out at the moment," Dustin replied before looking up. "Can I help you?" His eyes widened when he saw who he was talking to. "DUDE!" he breathed. "Youre-"

"Roger Hannah, nice to meet you," the man introduced himself, shaking Dustin's hand. He looked at the others, but their faces weren't as excited as his.

"Sorry, Dustin," Dani shrugged, "but Tori and I don't exactly know who he is. We don't follow motocross besides watching you."

"Five time moto champ," Dustin explained. "More wins than anyone on the planet."

"That might be a stretch," Roger smiled humbly.

"You're the team manager of Factory Blue," Dustin said in awe, not really thinking.

"Dustin, ask him to watch your tape," Dani whispered.

Dustin's eyes widened again. "Oh!" He looked for his tape frantically. "Here! Watch this tape. I've been busting some super fast lap time!"

"Maybe some other time," Roger said apologetically. "I'm actually looking for two guys in particular. I hear they ride at the local track sometimes."

Dustin's grin disappeared. "Oh don't tell me... One big guy, one not so big guy... Both insanely fast."

"So you know them?" Roger asked hopefully.

"Blake and Hunter?" Tori tried a smile. "You can say we know them."

"So you can tell me where they are?" Roger continued.

Tori frowned. "I really wish I could."

"She does. Trust me. You see, Tori's in lo-" Dani teased before she was cut off by a punch to the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Don't even go there," Tori warned, death glaring at her friend.

Roger laughed. "Well, here's my card," he said, handing Dustin a slip of paper. "If you run into them, have them call me. It's important."

Dustin nodded. "Sure thing." He smiled in awe. "Wow! Can you believe Roger Hannah... Tori? Dani?"

He found his friends at the back of the shop. Tori was by Dustin's bike, and Dani shook her head. "Tori, he's gonna flip," she muttered.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he asked, running over.

"I'm borrowing your bike," Tori replied casually.

"Oh. No, you see," Dustin explained to the water ninja, "the way that usually works is you ask me first, then I think about it for half a second, then tell you that the only way I would let you ride my race bike is if you tied me down and tortured me."

Tori gave him a look. "Do you really want it to come to that?"

Dani laughed. "While you guys threaten each other, I'm going to meet Cam for training." She waved at the two other ninjas and ran off.

Dustin ignored the white ninja's comment. "Tori, I just did a prep, okay? It's perfect."

Tori sighed. "Look, I really miss Blake, and riding makes me think like he's still around. Since Cam keeps the Tsunami cycles under lock and key, this is as close as it gets." Tori used her puppy dog eyes. "Please."

Dustin finally gave in. "Alright, fine. But if you bend the bars, or if you break the shifters off, you have to-"

"Fix it," Tori finished, smiling. "I know."

-NS-

"You sure he said here?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," Blake nodded. Maybe he forgot or got lost. He's not technically an intelligent lifeform."

Suddenly, Choobo came out of nowhere, and slid down the slope.

"I don't think," Blake smirked as they went to help him out.

"Come on, get up," Blake told the alien.

"Alright, we're here just like you said," Hunter snapped. "This had better be worth the hike."

"Oh, it will be!" Choobo exclaimed. "You see, I've made a life altering decision that will affect the entire balance of power in the universe!"

"Are you for real?" Blake asked.

"I've decided to leave Lothor's army." Choobo explained.

"Leave?" Blake inquired.

Choobo nodded. "Turn over a new leaf, go to the light side."

"Who says the light side will want you?" Hunter scoffed.

"Because," Choobo told them, trying to convince them, "bitter ex- employees have all sorts of information. Classified files, secret passwords to get in places... get it?"

Blake's eyes widened."Like Lothor's ship!"

"Possibly."

"Whats in it for you?" Hunter asked, not really buying what he was offering.

"Nothing!" Choobo replied. "Like I said, I'm bitter and I want payback for all the nasty things they said about me. What do you say?"

-NS-

Cam and Dani sparred outside of ops, both of them doing really well. Cam surprisingly kept up with Dani, and Dani blocked all of Cam's moves. It wasn't until Dani cornered the boy that things escalated. He tried to slide tackle at her, but she jumped, flipping backwards. He ran at her, but she managed to flip him over. She knelt and pinned him against the ground.

"Okay, okay," Cam surrendered. "You win."

Dani beamed, reaching down to help him up. "That was fun. Training for both of us."

"Definitely," Cam nodded, reaching for his water bottle. "It'll get me started if I want to be as good as you."

Dani chuckled. "Dude, you knocked me off of my feet several times. There's only one person, besides your dad, that I can think of that can fight better than that."

Cam blushed. "But you still beat me," he reminded the ninja.

"That's because I made myself a workaholic for awhile," Dani said.

"But you're still the best combat fighter on the team. Shane, Tori, and Dustin could have worked as hard, and have sometimes. The others are great, don't get me wrong. But fighting you?" He smiled. "I've finally met my match."

Dani looked over at him, his eyes not moving off of her. She blushed. "You think?" She asked, her heart beating faster.

Cam paused. He hadn't realized that the two were inches apart, and that Dani's fingers were almost intertwined with his. He swallowed. "Yeah," he breathed. "I think I have."

They stood like this for a moment, enjoying the closeness. Dani was thinking there was much more there between Cam and her, but every now and again a certain blond boy entered her thoughts. She might have had a small crush on the motocrosser, but what she was feeling for her closest friend felt much more than a silly little crush. Was this what love was?

Cam, who wanted to tell Dani how he felt, knew of the silly little crush. And he was okay with that. But whether Cam liked it or not, she could not stop thinking about the brunette, even though he thought Dani had feelings for Hunter.

He stepped away from her, grabbing his water bottle. "I have to-"

"Yeah," Dani nodded, smiling sadly. "Me too." The two separated, and they tried to get each other out of their heads.

-NS-

Shane walked into Storm Chargers and saw Dustin. He walked over to him, not believing what he was seeing. "Dude, I just saw Tori out front."

"Loading my pride and joy into the back of her van, I know," Dustin sighed.

"You never even let me ride that thing." Shane whined.

"Well, she hits harder than you," Dustin protested.

Shane shrugged. "Good point."

-NS-

Tori rode down a sand dune, trying to forget about everything. She was doing fine until she saw she had company. She tried to go faster, but the pursuer's bike speeded up, too. She turned into a forest. Little did she know that she'd hit a tree branch and tumble mystery biker pulled over towards Tori.

"Hey,what's the deal?" Tori asked, pulling off her helmet. The rider pulled off his helmet and smiled. Tori's eyes widened. "Blake? Wha-You totally freaked me out! I thought you were one of Lothor's goons!"

"Since when do they ride dirt bikes?" Blake asked, trying not to laugh.

Tori shrugged. "You never know. Where have you been, anyway? You don't call, no letter.." She smiled.

"You missed me, didn't ya?" Blake grinned.

Tori's smile disappeared. "No."

"Yeah, you did," Blake said, his grin widening. "I can tell."

Tori put on a forced frown. "I don't like you anymore," she told him, "and I'm not talking to you ever again." She smiled, hoping that he would get that she was joking.

"Oh yeah?" Blake asked. "Even if I had a way to get into Lothor's ship?"

-NS-

Tori told the three other rangers what Blake had told her previously. Shane frowned. "I don't buy it. Why would Choobo just all of a sudden decide to turn good?"

"I must agree with Shane," Sensei said. "It sounds far too convenient."

"Yeah, one of Lothor's top goons now out to destroy him?" Dani agreed. "Not likely."

"Hunter and Blake said they were going to check it out," Tori told the five. "Even if they get in the ship, they won't attack until they can call us in for backup."

"Good, then that gives us time," Dustin said.

Tori tilted her head."Time for what?" "For you to fix my bike, Miss Freestyle-No-Hand-Landing!" Dustin retorted.

"It wasn't that bad!" Tori protested. "I just took a little spill."

"The fender's facing backwards," Dustin sighed.

Dani laughed. "Tor, you want help? I actually know a thing or two about fixing bikes."

Tori nodded. "I'm going to need all the help I can get."

-NS-

Hunter and Blake streaked onto Lothor's ship. When they got there, Choobo was right behind them."Hi guys!" he yelled.

They pushed him to the ground before shaking their heads and helping him to his feet.

"Thats what you get for sneaking up on people!" Hunter snapped.

"Sorry," he laughed.

"Dude, you really need to work on your entrances," Blake scowled.

"Follow me! He's taking a nap." Choobo said.

When they went into the room, they found Lothor snoozing peacefully. "Out like a light," Blake smirked.

When they approached him, his eyes opened. "Surprise!"

An army of kelzaks attacked the Thunders. They lost the battle, and the Kelzaks threw them into the middle of the room. "Don't just stand there!" Lothor yelled. "The beam!" Choobo pressed a button, and Blake and Hunter were frozen in place.

-NS-

Dustin saw Hunter and Blake talking to Roger Hannah in the shop. When they were done, he went up to them. "So what, did you guys sign?" Dustin asked in excitement. "Factory Blue, that's crazy!"

"We'll catch you later," Hunter rolled his eyes, heading for the door.

"Wait, you guys wanna hang?" Dustin asked. "We got these new rubber stop triple clamps in."

"We'll pass." Blake sneered, and he and his brother walked away.

Dustin frowned. "What about... Don't you guys think we have some things we need to talk about?"

-NS-

Shane and Tori were sparring right outside of ops while Dani meditated. While the two were fighting, they discussed what Blake told Tori. "They told you their plan?" Shane asked while avoiding a punch from Tori.

"They said they'd let us know what happened," Tori said, pushing Shane."I trust them."

"If them is Blake and Hunter, might wanna rethink that," Dustin told her, walking into ops.

The two stopped sparring while Dani got up from meditating. "What's up?" Shane asked.

Dustin sighed."I just saw them in the shop and they just totally blew me off. I don't know, it's like Déjà vu all over again."

"Technically that's impossible Dustin." Cam pointed out.

Dani punched him. "You know he's not great with words," she teased.

"Whatever, man," Dustin rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, these guys are suffering from a major brain fade. Okay? It's like our little adventure in the Cavern of Lost Souls never even happened."

"But I thought we were all cool," Tori frowned.

"So did I," Dani agreed.

"Yeah, and like those guys are ever reliable," Shane scoffed.

"Speaking of reliable, I think someone got up on the wrong side of the bed," Cam told them as they watched a monster scare people off on the monitor.

Shane frowned. "Where does Lothor get these losers?"

Tori looked over to Shane. "Do you wanna say it? Or should I?"

He nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

The four rangers streaked to an empty construction zone. Or so it seemed. Suddenly, steam came out of some pipes and the snail-like monster called Toxipod knocked the rangers down. "Well, if it isn't the world famous Power Rangers," he sneered. "You know, you look taller on T.V."

"Anyone ever tell you you look uglier in person?" Dustin snapped.

"What is this? Attack of the Giant Snail?" Tori asked.

"And I thought the other monsters were weird," Dani said.

"Not a problem," Shane said, whipping out his Ninja Sword."

Just as they were about to fight Toxipod, they got hit with a blast of familiar electricity. They looked above, and sure enough, there were the Thunder Rangers. "Hey," Blake smirked. "Remember us?"

"You guys?" Dustin said in disbelief.

"What're you doing?" Tori asked.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" Dani exclaimed, glaring at the two.

"Yeah!" Shane agreed.

The brothers gave another smirk before fighting the Winds. Blake took on Shane and Dani, and the two weren't winning. "Blake, stop!" Shane yelled, fighting him off with his Ninja Sword.

"Not until you're destroyed!" Blake growled, hitting Shane to the ground.

Dani took out her Swan Staff and tried to hit Blake. "We don't wanna fight you!" She told him honestly, tired of them whooping their butts.

Blake grabbed her with his Antler. "You don't have a choice." He shoved Dani against a wall.

Dustin tried to fight Hunter with his double, but he disappeared, grew, and smooshed the earth ninja. Tori attempted a blast of water, but it just reflected back on her.

The Thunders were about to finish the Winds off, but they jumped and ran away from Toxipod, Blake, and Hunter. When they were about to go after them, Blake doubled over. "Hey, what's the matter?" his brother asked.

"I don't know!" Blake screamed in pain.

"They're getting away!" Hunter exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"I can't," Blake frowned.

-NS-

Tori, Shane, Dani, and Dustin were sprinting away from Toxipod. "Where are we going?" Dustin asked.

"Away from the stanky smell!" Shane told him.

"Works for me!" Tori said, short on breath.

"Count me in," Dani agreed. "Smells worse than Dustin."

Toxipod caught up with them. "You can never get away from my furious fumes, rangers!" he cackled, knocking down the four.

"This gas is a total blast."

"This guy's stinking up my whole day!"

"No kidding."

"I think he needs to be smog checked!"

"You got that right!"

"Alright," Shane said, "how 'bout we put the Wind in Wind Rangers?" The three nodded. "Yeah!"

"Oh yeah, like I'm afraid of wind!" Toxipod said sarcastically.

"Then come on down!" Shane called.

"Unless you're too chicken!" Tori taunted.

"Don't be shellfish!" Dustin said, banging pans together.

"No need to hide in your shell!" Dani smirked.

The monster glared at them. "Oh, it is _soo_ on!" He attacked, but the rangers used their Ninja Swords and Storm Striker to defeat him. When he grew, the Zords were called. Just about when they were going to destroy him, two other zords appeared on the battlefield.

"Our turn," Blake grinned maliciously.

"On it," Hunter nodded.

"Oh, great," Shane groaned. "The bugs are back."

Just when the other rangers were about to attack, the Insectazord came to a halt. "Hey," Blake frowned, communicating with his brother. "What's the matter?"

"I feel weird," Hunter explained. Blake stopped his zord, too. "Why are we fighting?"

"I feel it too," Blake nodded.

"Where am I?" Hunter asked, confused.

"Blake? Hunter?" Dani questioned. "Are you guys in there?"

Suddenly, two beams shot from the sky, hitting the Thunder Rangers, and they turned angry again.

"What was I thinking?" Hunter growled. "Let's crush them!"

"With you all the way!" Blake yelled while the Winds destroyed Toxipod.

"The snail's escargot!" Hunter said.

"Now it's our turn,'' Blake nodded. "No mercy!"

The Thunder Megazord was formed, and the two Megazords went after each other. What all five rangers did not know is that Choobo was on the ground, laughing. "Oh! This is actually working! I hope you like the beach, because that's where you're headed!" He sent a beam, and the rangers disappeared.

-NS-

Back at Ops, Cam was frowning. "The Megazord is offline, there's no one on board!" "Are you able to locate the rangers?" his father asked him.

Cam shook his head. "It's like they vanished into thin air! Like they were never even there!" He typed madly on his computer for fifteen minutes straight and sighed. "I've tried everything! There's just no sign of them, anywhere!"

It wasn't just Dani that Cam was worried about. In the past few weeks, he'd gotten closer with Shane, Tori, and even Dustin. They were now more than just his acquaintances. They were his friends. His family.

 _ **A/N: Aww, Cam :D**_


	11. Return of Thunder, Pt 2

_**A/N: Hey! Here's Chapter 11! Brain is fried, so I'm not typing much. But as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER! I STILL DON'T OWN THE POWER RANGERS. I OWN THE DANI. DAS IT.**

Chapter 11, Return of Thunder pt. 2

At a freezing Ninja Ops, Cam shivered while watching the Blue Bay News. _"It doesn't happen too often,"_ the news anchor said, " _but here, in Blue Bay Harbor, the weather has become the news. A cold front is gripping the city, Causing an unprecedented shortage in the heating oil supply."_

"No kidding," Cam muttered. He looked over to his father, who was standing to the side. "You sure you're alright, Dad?" "This is the first time I've been glad to have fur," Sensei responded, content. "Have you had any luck locating our rangers?"

Cam shook his head sadly. "Nothing. It's like they vanished into another dimension."

"Always a possibility," his father told him. "Keep trying."

Cam nodded. "I will." He started typing again, hoping to find his family and his person.

-NS-

The Wind Rangers woke on a beach, but not like the beach in Blue Bay Harbor. This beach was stony and small. Tori walked over to Dani, helped her up, and got Dustin up as well. "Oh, man," Dustin said, waking himself up, "I feel like I just got run over by a full gate of 250s."

"Me too," Tori nodded, then frowned. "Whatever that means."

"I feel like my brother beat me, let me rest for ten minutes, teamed up with Sensei, and then nailed on me," Dani complained. "Wait, nevermind, that was Blake and Hunter."

Tori ignored Dani's comment. "Where's Shane?"

"I'm right here!" Shane announced, climbing down the rocks. "I hiked up the hill," he explained, "to check things out. We're on an island."

"An island?" Tori repeated.

Shane nodded. "Yeah. There's no other land or people around as far as I can see." Dustin reached for his morpher, but Shane shook his head. "Hey, don't bother. I already tried."

Dani huffed. "You know that question 'if you could only bring one item to a deserted island'? I figured out what I would bring. My-" Her eyes widened and she reached into her pocket. "My phone!" She grinned.

"Bet you it has no service," Shane muttered to Dustin.

Dani turned her phone on and frowned. "No service."

"Called it," Shane smirked, earning himself a glare from the brunette.

"No you didn't," Dani stated. "You called no one because we CAN'T."

"Easy there, tiger," Shane soothed, patting the white ninja's back.

Dustin, ignoring this, thought back. "Last thing I remember, we were playing Battling Zords with Blake and Hunter."

"Yeah," Shane frowned. "Don't remind me."

"There's an explanation," Tori insisted.

"I think everything's pretty clear," Shane snapped.

"Guys..." Dani started, not wanting them to fight when they didn't know where they were.

Ignoring her, Tori glared at her supposed leader. "What does THAT mean?"

"We've known these guys for what, a month?" Shane argued. "And How much of that time were they actually NOT trying to take us out?"

"Guys!" Dani said again, knowing something they didn't because of their stupid fighting.

"You didn't see Blake the other day!" Tori told Shane, again ignoring Dani. "Something must've happened to he and Hunter when they went onto Lothor's ship!"

Shane rolled his eyes. "When you're ready to get real, come and talk to me, alright? I gotta find a way out of here."

Shane walked off, angry at Tori. Disliking the tension, Dustin tried to lighten the mood. "We could always trade him in for a new ranger," he thought out loud, "maybe a Green one." Tori and Dani shrugged and followed Shane. "Wait a minute!" Tori called. "Alright, I admit this is brutal, but-"

"GUYS!" Dani yelled, trying to get their attention.

"WHAT?" Shane and Tori snapped back.

"I don't think we're the only ones on this island," she said calmly. "Look." The rangers saw a blur of color flash by them.

Shane looked to Dani. "Next time Dani, tell us sooner." Dani glared at the two rangers that had been ignoring her and ran with the others to see what the blur was.

The four ran through a forest until Shane yelled for them to stop. "It came this way," Shane told them. "I saw it." They looked around for a bit. The Thunders appeared before their eyes.

"Good eye, Shane," Blake said.

"You two?" Dani frowned. "Come the hell on!"

"You ever wonder if two Thunder Ninjas got into a fight with four Wind Ninjas, who would win?" Hunter smirked.

"No one," Tori told them. "The only way we'd win is to work together."

"Which is what I thought we were doing," Dustin finished.

"Guess you were wrong," Blake replied.

"Tell you what," Hunter said, "we'll even give you a head start if you wanna run."

Shane laughed at this. "Sorry, Tor," he told his friend, "Whatever's up with these guys, we're not gonna fix it by letting them stomp us."

"I have no intention of letting them stomp us," Tori affirmed, clearly pissed off at Blake.

The four wind ninjas pulled off their street clothes to reveal their uniforms. "We don't wanna fight you!" Shane said. "But you give us no choice."

Hunter brushed off this comment. "Enough talk."

The fight began. Shane, Hunter and Dani battled it out. The two of them were pretty evenly matched with Hunter, so the fight was going decently. Hunter grabbed Dani by the wrists. "You know, thanks to you, white's my least favorite color," he smirked. She kicked him back and flipped him. "It's a freaking shade," the hurricane ninja growled in reply. Then Shane and Dani used their air powers and knocked Hunter down.

Meanwhile, Tori and Dustin fought off Blake. The fight could've been going better for the two, but they didn't give up. "Blake, that's enough!" Tori screamed as she tried to kick him. Blake grabbed her arm when she tried to punch him.

The six regrouped back at the beach. "We having fun yet?" Shane asked.

"No, but there's always this," Hunter replied. He looked at his brother, who nodded in agreement.

"THUNDERSTORM! RANGER FORM! POWER OF THUNDER!"

"Knew that was coming," Dustin said, as he morphed with his team.

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"HURRICANE POWER!"

"Oh, it's on now!" Blake shouted. "We're through taking it easy on you!"

"You're right Shane, they're not gonna listen to reason," Tori admitted.

"If its them or us, I choose us," Dustin added.

"Thank you, finally someone's listening to me." Shane smiled.

"US!" Dani corrected. "Don't forget me!"

"Whatever. NINJA SWORDS!"

They broke off, fighting again. Shane jumped onto a mountain and used his Hawk Blaster on Hunter. He deflected it and smirked. "My blaster's bigger than yours!" He blasted Shane off. Dani used her Vanish and tapped him on the shoulder. "My staff's cooler than yours!" She shouted, and hit him with the Swan Staff.

Dustin and Tori were fighting Blake with their swords. "Ninja Beams!" Dustin yelled, throwing beams at Blake, who deflected one at Tori. "Tori!"

"I'm okay." Tori assured him.

"Your aim is lame Dustin, but I'm not shocked, are you?" Blake said, taking him up in an electric beam, throwing him off to the side.

-NS-

Back at Ops, it was freezing cold. "This is crazy," Cam frowned. "It's never this cold here. We've broken every record since the Weather Service has existed."

"Why couldn't I have been a long haired Peruvian Guinea Pig?" Sensei sighed, earning a smile from his son.

"Well I've turned the heat up, but I'm worried about having enough power to drive the search system."

"We have no choice Cam, " Sensei told him, "you must find the Rangers."

Cam nodded. "I'll keep trying, Dad."

-NS-

Hunter blasted the three Wind Rangers with his weapon, knocking them all to the ground. "You've got to stop this!" Shane yelled.

"Say goodbye, Rangers!" Hunter cackled.

"Alright look, you obviously have some serious emotional problems you're dealing with." Shane smirked. "You ever consider group therapy?"

Hunter looked to the ground, his mind changing about them saying goodbye. "Um..."

"This is getting really old," Tori frowned.

"Yeah," Dani agreed. "Why are you using your powers like this? You should be throwing Lothor's goons into the dirt, not us!"

"Hey I love dirt as much as the next guy." Dustin started.

"Too bad it doesn't show in your riding, Dustin." Blake sneered.

"You did not just bag on my riding!" Dustin yelled, lunging for Blake.

"Why are we fighting them?" Hunter asked himself.

Blake pushed Dustin to the ground with his Antler."You want some more?" He asked angrily.

"Hey, wait, isn't Dustin our friend?" Hunter asked, memories flooding back. "Blake, this is wrong."

"What are you talking about, Hunter?" Blake snapped, but then he and his brother were shot by ninja beams and the Storm Striker, also getting hit with their swords.

"Now just stay down." Tori yelled.

"Could we get out of here?" Dustin asked. "Good idea, I'm so over this." Shane nodded.

"That makes four of us," Dani smirked. They carefully approached the Thunders with their swords up.

"Ugh, my head," Blake frowned.

"Huh?" Hunter said, confused."Where are we? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Blake nodded before they saw the Winds in front of them. "

What are you guys doing here?" Hunter asked.

"You guys okay?" Shane asked.

"Uh-huh," Blake mumbled.

"What happened?" Hunter asked before being hug-tackled by White along with his brother. Hunter chuckled. "Good to see you, too Dan."

"They seem themselves," Tori noted.

"You better be," Dani told the two after letting them go, "'cause I'm done with fighting you guys. I did not become friends with you dorks to become enemies again."

"That makes two of us, Dan," Blake smiled.

"And you're the dork," Hunter added.

"Hey!"

What the rangers didn't see was Choobo, standing on the top of the hill. "Hey!" he called. "You down there! In the Bug suits!"

"He better not be talking to us." Hunter sneered, closing his visor.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" He replied. I've worked too hard for you to mess things up now! Super Toxipod!" In a burst of flame, a familiar snail appeared.

"You can't keep a good snail down!" Super Toxipod laughed. "Did you miss me?" He fired a blast at all six rangers, hitting them.

"Didn't we already fight this guy?" Shane asked as they recovered from his blast.

"But he smells even worse." Tori pointed out.

"He looks a lot worse, too," Dani said.

"Everything about me is worse!" Super Toxipod cackled.

"Now what does he want?" Dustin groaned.

"Want?" The snail asked, smirking. "I want to sink this Island with you on it. I want to cause an atmospheric reaction, that would drop the temperature to a hundred degrees below zero. I want payback." He fired beams at the four Wind Rangers while kelzaks came from behind them.

"Aw man!" Shane whined

"How'd they get here?" Tori asked.

"Maybe they got a group rate." Dustin suggested, trying to keep his cool.

"I am so over these punks!" Dani growled and flipped one over.

As the rangers were being overpowered, Hunter decided to help them out. "Blake, we gotta help them!" He told his brother

"All over it bro!" Blake agreed. "Let's do it!"

"Not so fast!" Choobo yelled as he jumped down from a ledge. "Listen to me, Crimson Ranger," he said, turning to Hunter. "Your brother has betrayed you! Hear me?"

"That's crazy!" Hunter replied, shaking his head. Suddenly, a beam came down towards Blake, but Hunter pushed him out of the way, getting hit.

"Are you okay, dude?" Blake asked his brother. "I don't know," Hunter answered. "I think so. I feel kinda weird."

"Here's the real deal." Choobo said; "You can't trust your brother anymore. That pretty Blue Ranger has convinced him to join up with them."

"What are you babbling about?" Blake asked Choobo. "I'd never turn on my brother. You're the one with the evil plan!"

"Tell him the truth. He deserves to know you've betrayed him and your poor lost parents" Choobo shouted.

"Hunter, don't listen to him!" Blake told Hunter. "It's all a bunch of lies!" Then he turned to the alien. "You're trying to destroy us!"

"My own brother..." Hunter thought out loud, forgetting everything else. He clenched his fist and hit Blake with his staff, making him fall.

"What's the matter with you?" Blake exclaimed. "Have you lost your ninja mind?!"

"You don't deserve to call yourself a Thunder Ranger, you traitor!" Hunter growled and took a few more swings at his brother.

Blake dodged them and caught the end of the staff. "Don't you remember anything that's happened?"

"I remember you sold me out to those Wind weasels!" Hunter attacked his brother again, but this time, Blake couldn't dodge it.

While fighting kelzaks, the "Wind Weasels" saw what was happening. "Woah!" Shane exclaimed. "Now they're fighting each other!"

"Not if I can help it!" Dani smirked. She flipped over the kelzaks and helped Blake.

Dustin fought off Super Toxipod and frowned. "Dude, why do you have to be so crabby?" The monster ignored the comment and pushed Dustin down.

As Shane and Tori helped the Yellow Ranger up, steam started coming out of nowhere. "What's that?" Shane asked.

"That's Toxic steam!" Super Toxipod yelled in reply. "The Island is sinking fast, and soon the Earth will be one giant snowcone, and you can't do a thing about it!"

"Wanna bet?" Shane smirked. The three kicked a kelzak into the steam, and then it started attacking other kelzaks.

"Weird." Dustin commented.

"Now what?" Shane wondered.

"I get it," Tori said, understanding. "He's fighting because of the steam!"

"Like I said, weird." Dustin said.

Super Toxipod took out the rogue kelzak before being yelled at by Choobo. "Hey! What's taking so long? Finish off those rangers so we can take over the planet. It'll be a cold new world!"

"Ah! Yes general!" Super Toxipod yelled back. He turned back to the Rangers. "It's slime time!"

Hunter knocked Blake down, pointing his staff to his brother's chest. "Now you'll pay!"

Blake's eyes widened inside his helmet. "No!"

"Hunter Wait!" Shane yelled.

"Stop!" Dustin said.

"Don't do it!" Tori added.

"Hunter, stop!" Dani screamed and kicked his chest. He glared at her. "This doesn't concern you, Oliver!" He pushed her aside, going back to Blake. "You brought this on yourself, Blake!"

"You're my friend, so actually, it does, Bradley," she snapped, kicking him again. "You aren't thinking straight!"

"Dude, she's right!" Blake agreed. "You got zapped with that beam, remember?"

"This isn't you!" The White Ranger told him. "This is Lothor's doing!"

"More lies!" Choobo shouted. "Don't listen to them!"

"But.." Hunter said, "I..."

"Hunter, look into your heart," Blake told him. "You know the truth."

Before he could, Hunter got a full blast of the Toxic Steam.

"Get out of there!" Blake said.

"What's happening to me?!" Hunter yelled, still getting hit with the steam.

"The steam got him!" Shane noticed.

"Right in the face!" Tori nodded.

"It's going from bad to worse." Dustin groaned.

"Hang in there, Bradley," Dani told the Thunder Ninja.

When the steam stopped, Hunter looked at his brother angrily, slime all over his helmet.

"No," Blake frowned.

Hunter kept attacking Blake, and no one could hold him back. Shane stepped in front of the injured Thunder Ninja. "This has gone far enough!" He used the smoke screen, and all five ninjas disappeared.

"What?" Hunter blinked in confusion. "Come back! I'm not through with you!"

"You blew it!" Super Toxipod shouted.

"This was not in the plan!" Choobo growled.

-NS-

The four Wind Ninjas carried Blake to safety. "Right here guys!" Shane said as he, Tori, Dani, and Dustin set the Thunder Ninja down.

"Blake, wake up!" Tori shook him. "Please, wake up."

Suddenly, his suit started pulsing with Electricity."What's happening to him?" Tori asked.

"Relax, Tor," Dani soothed. "His suit took a lot of damage. It's powering down." Tori nodded as he demorphed.

When he finished, Tori continued to shake him and talk to him. "Blake!"

Blake's eyes opened. Not knowing there was people, he jumped.

"It's alright! You're alright!" Tori assured him. Blake relaxed, putting his head back on the ground. He looked up at Dani. She gave him a reassuring smile, telling him everything's gonna be okay.

-NS-

A person walked into Ninja Ops with skiing equipment and goggles. Cam turned around, looking at the person in front of him. "Who are you?"

The person took off the goggles, mask, and heavy coat to reveal a taller man with short brown hair. "Sorry for the intrusion," he said, smiling. "I'm Tommy Oliver, Dani's brother."

"How did you get in here?" Cam questioned.

"Dani told me where the secret entrance was in case I couldn't contact her," he explained, bringing his old power coin from his coat pocket. "I was a power ranger. Your secret is safe with me."

Cam nodded, having studied the history of power rangers as well. "Dani didn't tell me you were a ranger."

The man laughed. "You don't tell many people if you were a power ranger, Cam."

Cam frowned. "How'd you know my name?"

"My sister has told me a lot about you," Tommy explained. "A lot." He turned towards Sensei. "Are you her teacher?"

"Sensei Watanabe," he introduced himself. "It is an honor."

"And I thought a robot was far fetched," the former ranger laughed before getting back on track. "Where's my sister?"

Cam froze, metaphorically speaking. "I wish I could tell you."

Tommy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The rangers were having a megazord battle with the Thunder Rangers-"

"Those must be the guys Dani was talking about before," Tommy nodded.

"And a beam took all of the rangers to a place I can't find at the moment," Cam finished, then turned to his father. "Also, bad news, Dad. The temperature's dropping one degree every hour."

"It will quickly become impossible for us to sustain life," the guinea pig shivered.

"What about Dani?" Tommy reminded him.

"Well, nothing yet," Cam sighed, "but I tapped into a military satellite and found a disturbance that traces back to an island in the South Pacific. It's a volcanic formation that's sinking at a rate directly proportionate to the dropping climate."

Tommy thought. "So the islands getting sinking as everywhere else gets colder."

"Exactly," Cam nodded, "And I don't know of any way to stop it."

Sensei frowned. "I feel the Island's appearance and the rangers' disappearance is not a random event."

-NS-

Blake stood at the edge and sighed. He didn't want this to happen. _It should've been me,_ he thought. Dani walked next to him. "You okay?"

He nodded. "I just didn't want this to happen again. You guys shouldn't have to go through this. And now, Hunter's against me."

She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We're gonna make this right. I promise."

He smiled and nodded before turning to the other three. "Hunter's the only family I have," he told the four. "He's always been there for me. And now he needs my help. For the first time in our lives he needs me. I'm not gonna let him down."

"We'll do whatever we can," Tori assured him.

He looked to the Air Ninja. "Shane, that wasn't us back there."

"I know, I should have known." Shane answered. "We're here for you bro."

"Fully." Dustin added.

Blake smiled, knowing he could count on the five.

-NS-

Somewhere in the distance, an angry Crimson ranger climbed up the rocks and growled. "WHERE ARE YOU?! BLAKE! BLAKE!"


	12. Return of Thunder, Pt 3

_**A/N: Hey friends. It's been a few days, but I'm currently helping my roommate with her film competition and I'm very occupied between that and classes. I'll try to get 13 up for Monday, but it will definitely be up by Thursday. Thanks for the reviews and the patience. I'm gonna do a major writing session rn, so I will try to post weekly. I will let you know when I know my official schedule for updating. Thanks again, and as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I own Dani Oliver, but not her brother or the rest of Power Rangers.**

Chapter 12: Return of Thunder, pt. 3

In Blue Bay, Storm Chargers was having a "Beat-the-freeze" sale. And It was packed. A customer came to her, upset. "Do you have another size?" He asked. "I can't even get my hands in there."

"They're my last pair," Kelly frowned, then ran to the back of the store to get something for him. "How about Motocross gloves? They'll keep you warm, and they look cool, too." He settled for the motocross gloves. "Great, I'll be right back." She sighed. "Dustin, you are SO fired if you don't come to work today."

-NS-

The five rangers walked along the beach on the island. Everyone was worried about Hunter, especially Blake and Dani. Trying to break the silence that had been going on for about an hour, Dustin asked, "Is it just me or is it starting to get seriously cold?"

"Yeah, most of the time I'd say it was just you," Shane replied, "but it is definitely getting colder here."

"I'd really like to know why we can morph, but we can't reach Ninja Ops," Tori frowned.

"Or why I don't have cell service," Dani mumbled.

"Yeah well I'd settle for knowing where we are," Shane said.

"Portico Island," Blake replied, casually. The four stopped and looked at him. "What?"

"Anything else you'd like to share with the group?" Shane asked.

"Nah, you don't wanna know," Blake shook his head. "Trust me."

"Trust us," Tori said. "We do."

"Yeah, saying that makes us wanna know even more," Dani added.

Blake sighed. "I heard Lothor talking with his pals just before he sent Hunter and me back to Earth."

"And?" Shane asked.

"This place doesn't exist on any map," he continued. "And it rises from the sea like every two hundred years or something."

"And then what?" Dustin inquired.

"Well that's the part that's kinda harsh." Blake smirked.

Tori's eyes widened."You're telling us that this whole place is sinking back into the ocean?"

"I told you you didn't wanna know," Blake shrugged.

"Well, I still wanted to know," Dani muttered.

Dustin laughed at the brunette. "Only you, Dan."

"Oh come on," she said. "You know you did too."

"Anyway," Shane sighed, shaking his head at them, "We'd better find some higher ground. C'mon." The others agreed and walked on, hoping to not sink into the ocean too.

-NS-

Back at Ops, Tommy was pacing nervously while Cam looked for the rangers. He usually trusted his sister when it came to fighting. She was almost as good as he was. However, their brother David had passed two years earlier, and Dani was the only sibling he had left. He couldn't lose her, too.

Cam was studying the monitor when his eyes widened when he saw something. "I'm getting something!" Cam he said, becoming hopeful. "That must be them! Look at this." Tommy stopped his nervous pacing and made his way toward the geek. "I've tracked the heat signatures from the satellite photos," he continued, "and I think I found the Rangers."

"That's good news son." Sensei said.

"Yeah, it is," the former ranger agreed. However, he knew that it couldn't have been that simple. "But?"

"But," Cam frowned, "they are on a sinking Island, and they're not alone."

-NS-

Hunter walked through the rocks of the island, the effect of the steam still on him. "Blake, where are you?" he growled. "Must destroy enemy!"

"That's right," Choobo said in the distance, hoping his plan would work. "Thunder Ranger Blake is the enemy. Lead me right to them."

"Must destroy Blake!"

-NS-

Dustin, Dani, Blake, Tori, and Shane walked through the island. They hadn't heard from Ops, and they haven't seen Hunter. And both of those things worried them. At least, almost all of them. "Is anyone else worried that we haven't seen Hunter for hours?" Dustin asked.

"Not me," Shane scoffed. "I could use the break from getting my butt whooped."

Blake turned around and glared at Shane. "Hey no offense, but your bro isn't exactly playing well with others these days."

"Well, how would you react if you got struck with toxic smoke?" Dani retorted. Shane rolled his eyes.

"Look, Hunter's a great Ranger," Blake said defensively. "One day you're all gonna be glad he's got those powers."

"Sure," Shane grumbled, "the day he stops using them on us."

"How did you get them anyway?" Tori asked.

"What?" Blake replied.

"Your powers," Tori explained. "You never told us how any of that happened."

"It's a long story, you really wanna hear it?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, it's either that or watch Dustin play in the dirt," Shane laughed. Dustin glared at him, threw his stick, and Blake began.

"Sensei Omino was the one who taught our parents the way of the Thunder Ninja. After they passed away, he brought us to the Thunder Academy, helped us get through everything. We felt like we belonged again. We both did really well in our training. Sensei Omino was grooming us for something, we just didn't know what."

"So that's when Lothor showed up." Dustin said.

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "Our school was attacked. Kelzaks and aliens everywhere. Sensei gave us our morphers and said we'd know what to do. Only at that moment he was captured by Lothor."

"When you go in one of those ball things, what's it feel like?" Dustin asked. "Is it cool? Like, going off a freestyle ramp? Or-"

The four of them stared at the Earth Ninja. "Not the point, doofus," Dani told him.

"Oh yeah," Dustin said. "No, sorry, continue."

"Once we got on Lothor's ship, he was really tweaked that the Ranger powers were passed onto us. That's when he told us the lie about our parents."

"It's when you went all medieval on us, huh?" Shane remembered.

"Let's not go there again," Tori sighed.

"You gotta understand," Blake told them, "Hunter's a good person. But if he believes someone's wronged him he won't stop until he makes it right."

"Okay, we get that," Dustin assured him, "but why is he taking it out on us?"

"Choobo used some kind of mind-erase on us to make us think you were our enemies," Blake explained.

"That's what happened when he got caught in the beam and the smoke," Dani nodded.

"Seems like it."

"Then how come you snapped out of it?" Shane asked.

The Thunder Ninja smiled. "I guess I had more help remembering who my friends are."

Tori smiled in return and got up. "Then that's what Hunter needs. Come on, we better go find him." Shane, Tori, Dani, and Blake went off until they realized Dustin was sitting still.

"Do we have to?" He whined before being dragged off by Shane.

-NS-

Hunter's mind was a mess. He was forgetting where he was, and who he was. He crawled on the ground in agony. "What's happened to me?" he said in pain.

Choobo, who was in front of him, sighed, hoping this would be easier. "Do we really have to go over it again?" he asked the ranger. "Repeat after me: The Rangers are your enemies. Your brother betrayed you. Say it! BLAKE BETRAYED YOU."

"Blake betrayed me..." Hunter repeated, growing angrier, slowly getting up.

"That's right," Choobo nodded. "Blake bad, Choobo good. Now pull yourself together and find him. I wanna be home in time for my cartoons."

Hunter obeyed and laughed evilly. "No more rangers!"

-NS-

The rangers walked down the mountain, gas everywhere. Dustin coughed. "This island reaks!"

After the gas cleared, Blake spotted a crimson figure on the ground. "Guys, check it out!" He said, pointing Hunter out. "C'mon!" The four followed him, hearing yells of "BLAKE!"

Suddenly, Super Toxipod appeared in front of them. "You guys better bail," he laughed, "'cause I'm one bad snail!"

The five took a fighting position. "If you're a snail, how come you look more like a crab?" Dustin smirked.

"Crab, snail, WHATEVER!" The monster threw laser beams at them, but fortunately, the rangers dodged them.

"Time to plug this slug," Dustin said.

"Or whatever it is," Dani muttered.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

"POWER OF THUNDER!"

After they morphed, the Snail Monster growled. "I can take you all!"

"Dream on, snail trail," Blake smirked before going into a shadow battle. Blake grabbed the monster. "Where's Hunter?"

"What do you care?" the monster screamed. "You'll never get off this island!"

"Never's a long time dude!" Blake said, flipping Super Toxipod over. The four Wind Rangers formed the Storm Striker and fired, causing Super Toxipod to explode into bits.

The five regrouped. "Everyone okay?" Shane asked.

"I think so," Dani nodded.

"Yeah," Tori agreed.

Blake turned around, looking everywhere. "Where's Hunter?" he asked. "Where are you?!"

Shane found him, and the Wind Rangers tried to stop him, but Hunter ran through the rangers and slashed at Blake with his Thunder Staff.

Blake took hold of it. "Hunter!" he shouted. "Snap out of it! Lothor's done something to you!"

"Liar!" Hunter snarled.

"Listen to me!" Blake begged.

"No more lies!" Hunter broke Blake's grip and started swinging again.

After they recovered, the four got up. "Are we just gonna sit here?" Dani said impatiently.

Shane nodded. "You're right, Blake needs us." They went to help him, but got stopped by a familiar green alien.

"Not so fast!" Choobo shouted. "I wanna play!" He started fighting the four wind rangers. After Dani got knocked to the ground, she went to help Blake.

"Hunter!" Blake breathed. "You gotta trust me!"

"Why should I?" Hunter snapped, slashing his brother. He was going to slash him again, but he was attacked by an invisible force. He fell to the ground, and Dani appeared in front of him. "Because you're family," Dani said.

"Get out of the way!" Hunter growled, shoving her away. "This doesn't have anything to do with you!"

"The hell it doesn't!" She screamed.

He shoved Blake down. Blake tried to breathe. "Hunter, please-"

"You betrayed me," Hunter spat. "And now you will pay for your betrayal!"

"It was Choobo and Lothor," Blake explained. "They betrayed us!"

"Listen to him, Hunter!" Dani yelled.

"Think, Hunter, Think!"

Memories flashed by, making Hunter stop. "You're confusing me," he said, shaking his head and his brother. "No more ninja tricks!" He pointed his Thunder staff at Blake, making his eyes widen. "No!"

"I don't think so," Dani said, kicking Hunter off of Blake. "Dammit, Bradley, think! He's your brother!"

"I don't have a brother!" He replied, throwing Dani down and hitting Blake with his blaster. Hunter's force made the girl demorph, unconscious.

"Dani!" Blake yelled, glaring at his brother. "Alright, enough is enough." He got up slowly. "Looks like it's time for some tough love." He knocked Hunter down to the ground using his Thunder Staff and held him there. "Now you're gonna listen, and you're gonna listen good. Hunter! Your name is Hunter! You're my brother. C'mon, man, shake it off! You just the girl you liked for Pete's sake!"

Hunter didn't believe him still. "No, you're lying to me! I know the truth!" He threw Blake off of him and clutched his head. "Something is wrong! My head!" More memories of him and Blake flashed by, and he saw the time that he left Dani. "It's coming back," he breathed. He shook his head and demorphed. "I remember," he said before collapsing onto the sand.

"HUNTER!" Blake cried, starting to go towards him.

"Oh, no you don't!" Choobo said.

"Oh, yes he does! NINJA POWER!" The three Wind Rangers slashed the green alien with their swords.

An angry and afraid Choobo glared at them. "I'll be back, Rangers! Now, how do I get outta here?" He ran. "Time to make like a banana and split!" Then he teleported away.

"There he goes," Tori sighed.

"Ninja form!" the rangers yelled, powering down.

Tori smirked. "I guess Choobo didn't feel like sticking around for an encore."

"Yeah, and that crab is toast." Shane laughed.

"Man, why have I got this sudden craving for seafood?" Dustin asked.

Tori looked around until she saw two familiar figures. "Look! There's Blake and Hunter!" The four ran over to them.

Blake was shaking Hunter, trying to wake him up. "C'mon! No, C'mon, bro! Stay with me!"

Hunter's eyes opened and he gagged. "Dude," he breathed, "I'm gonna need to breathe at some point here." Blake laughed, helping his brother and bestfriend up. "Thanks, bro."

The three Wind Ninjas approached them. "He's back to being Hunter," Tori noticed.

"Good Hunter or Bad Hunter?" Dustin wondered.

"Do you know who we are?" Shane asked Hunter.

"Yeah, my friends," Hunter replied, causing all the ninjas to smile. But then he frowned. "Where's Dani?" They looked around until they saw a small, unconscious figure lying in the sand.

They all raced over. "Dani!" Hunter screamed, picking her up. "Oh no, no no no." He shook her almost violently.

After a few moments, the girl gasped for air. It took her a few minutes to make out the figure who was holding her. "Hunter?"

Hunter smiled in relief. "Hey."

She smiled back. "Hey yourself."

"Look Dani, I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"I know," Dani smiled. "You were under a spell. Just remind me to never piss you off." She shuddered. "You're scary when you're angry like that."

The five others laughed at this. "Will do," Hunter grinned.

-NS-

"Guys, I'm getting something!" Cam grinned.

Tommy smiled. "Good job, Cam."

Shane's morpher beeped unexpectedly. "Is that you, Cam?" he asked, the others joining him.

" _No, it's the phone company,"_ came the reply. " _I'm calling to find out if you're happy with your long distance service."_

The rangers laughed. "Is he always this, uh, funny?" Hunter asked.

"Not always," Shane said, smiling still. "We're great, Cam, thanks for asking."

" _Dani?"_ A deeper voice came over the line.

The brunette's eyes widened. "Tommy?"

" _Danielle Grace, don't ever do that again. Ever"_

"Who's Tomm?" Blake asked.

"That's my brother," Dani explained. "I'm in one piece, Tom. Don't worry."

" _You better be,"_ the former ranger warned.

" _Are the Thunder Rangers with you?"_ Sensei's voice asked.

"Right here, Sensei," Hunter said.

" _Excellent. I must speak to them upon your return."_

" _Which brings up our next problem,"_ Cam said. " _You're on an island that's sinking fast. You've gotta find a way off."_

"How 'bout the gliders?" Dustin suggested.

" _The atmospheric pressure is too unstable right now,"_ Cam frowned. " _It wouldn't be safe."_

"What about the zords?" Blake asked.

" _Good idea, Blake,"_ Sensei praised.

 _"They're on their way,"_ Cam said. " _I just have to check the structural integrity to make certain they can stand the water pressure."_

"We'll be ready," Shane said, then looked to the others. "Let's do it."

"Wait!" The five turned to Hunter.

"Oh, no," Dustin mumbled, fearing the worst.

"I just wanted to say in means a lot," Hunter said in all honesty. "The way you stood up for me."

Dani smiled. "What are friends for?"

"So before this turns into a group hug," Shane smirked, "we better go." Hunter smiled and jogged up to the others.

Before they could go any further, Super Toxipod grew before their eyes. "Go big or go home!"

"You guys ready for this?" Shane asked.

"Ready," Dani, Dustin, and Tori nodded.

"Ready," Hunter and Blake smiled.

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA! NINJA RANGER POWER!"

"Hey, Cam? How 'bout those Zords?" Shane asked.

" _On their way,"_ Cam said.

The Super Toxipod was defeated and the Rangers were on their way.

-NS-

Dustin, Hunter, and Blake walked into Storm Chargers, hoping to set things straight with Kelly. "Hey Kel," Dustin greeted, hoping not to get screamed at.

"Well," Kelly huffed. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Kel, I can explain," Dustin told his boss. "I was kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"It wasn't his fault," Hunter said. "He was helping us out."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me," Kelly rolled her eyes. "You couldn't have called? Sent an e-mail?"

"You gotta trust me," Dustin almost begged, "if there was any way I'd have been here- I'm really sorry." Dustin said.

"Dustin's telling you the truth." Blake nodded. "As for my brother and me, we know we let you down a bunch of times. We're through with that. We wanna start over."

"We'll make it up to you. We promise." Hunter added.

"Well," Kelly thought, "I'm still kinda short handed, I could do with a couple of stock boys."

"Stock boys?" Hunter frowned.

"You know, someone to open boxes," Kelly explained, "Clean the floors at night."

"I was thinking something more along the lines of head mechanic or-" Hunter said until Blake cut him off.

"We'll take it," Blake smiled. "Thanks."

"Great," Kelly nodded. "Well, you can help by helping me clean up this mess."

"We just got one more thing we need to take care of, and we'll be back in like half an hour," Dustin promised the redhead. "I promise." The three of them headed out, leaving Kelly to shake her head at them.

-NS-

Tommy embraced his sister, holding her tighter than ever. "Why can't we both have normal lives?" he sighed.

"Then we wouldn't be having so much fun," Dani chuckled. "I'm fine, Tom. Really."

"Hey wait a sec," Shane yelled. "Why is your brother in-"

Tommy laughed. "Oh yeah, you don't know." He reached into his pocket, revealing his power coin.

Dustin walked in, seeing the gold item in Tommy's hand. His eyes widened. "Dude, you're not-" He turned to Dani. "He's not-"

"He is," Dani grinned. "Tommy, this is Shane, Tori, Dustin, Blake, and Hunter," she introduced. "Guys, meet my brother, Tommy. Otherwise known as the original White Ranger."

"No way!" Tori exclaimed, her eyes also widened."

The former ranger revealed a picture of him and his old team. Shane laughed. "Nice hair."

"Looks like you and Dani have another resemblance," Blake smirked.

"You're not wrong," the former ranger smiled. "Anyway, you guys look like you need to talk. I'll be outside when you're ready, Dan." Dani nodded, and listened as the Thunders revealed some shocking news.

"Woah, wait a minute," Shane frowned. "Let me get this straight. After all we went through, you guys just wanna walk away from being rangers?"

"We have to," Hunter sighed.

"Lothor isn't gonna let us rest until he destroys us," Blake added.

"Join the club dude," Dustin retorted.

"We can't risk anything happening to you because of us," Hunter explained. "You're the only thing standing between Lothor and millions of innocent."

"But you've been given a gift," Tori reminded them. "Isn't it your responsibility to use that gift?"

"Tori is correct," Sensei nodded. "Hunter, Blake, Sensei Omino knew the Thunder Ranger powers were meant for you. But I cannot force you to live up to your responsibility."

"Guys," Dani huffed. "We know you've done crappy stuff. But none of that's your fault. We've forgiven and forgotten. You can do greater things. Like kicking Lothor's rear-end! Don't just walk away from a chance like that!""

"So whatdya say?" Shane asked, putting his arms around his teammates. "You guys in? Or not?"

Blake and Hunter sighed. "We'll think about it," Blake finally said. "Just give us some time."

The rangers, Cam, and Sensei stood in silence, wishing the Thunder Rangers well.


	13. Return of Thunder, Pt 4

**_A/N: Hello friends. Thank you for all the kind words towards this story. I'm a happy little Paige. And behold! Chapter 13 is here! Be expecting an update on Friday! If I don't and I'm forgetful, PM me please. I want to be better. Love you guys, and as always, review review review!_**

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _Paige_**

 **DISCLAIMER: Very tired Paige owns Dani. Nothing more, nothing less.**

Chapter 13: Return of Thunder, pt. 4

At Storm Chargers, Dani, Hunter, and Blake were helping Kelly with new orders. Dani felt like she owed one to Kelly, so she helped out. "This the last of the new stuff?" Hunter asked his new boss.

Kelly smiled at them. "You guys are doing great. Keep it up and you'll never know." She turned to the other female. "Thanks for the help, Dani."

Dani smiled back. "No problem, Kel. What are friends for?"

Dustin laughed as he walked in, seeing the three working. "How goes life on the work force?" he asked, giving the brothers a high-five.

Blake laughed and accepted. "It's all good. Thanks for the hookup."

"Yeah," Hunter nodded, also high fiving Dustin. "We owe you one." He looked at the smaller brunette, still feeling guilty.

Dani blushed. "It's nothing," she stated, making her way to the back.

"You want an easy way you can repay me?" Dustin asked, his eye twinkling.

Hunter sighed. "If it involves morphers and megazords, we're still thinking."

"I know the whole Sensei-Guinea-Pig seems a little out there," Dustin said, "but once you get past the big teeth and the clothes and the talking, it's really not that unusual."

"On which planet is it not unusual?" Hunter smirked.

"Look, it's nothing to do with Sensei, alright?" Blake told him honestly. "It's just we've got a big decision. But we won't keep you hanging, okay?"

"Cool," Dustin nodded, and the two headed out. Before they left, Dustin asked, "Hey guys, still riding later?"

"After work," Hunter replied. "Meet us at the beach."

"All over it," Dustin smiled, watching the two go out. Dani walked up behind him. "You know you can't change their minds for them."

"I know," Dustin frowned. "But I can try."

-NS-

Dani walked into Ops watching Shane try tricks on his skateboard while Cam and Tori were at the monitor. "I'm confused," Cam said from the computer. "Does it now say 'Skatepark' outside the secret entrance?"

"Apparently it does," Dani smirked as she walked over to Cam. She pulled up a chair, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Cam replied.

"What's going on?"

"This," Cam said. "Someone knew what they were doing when they built these Thunder Zords. The technology's amazing!"

"Yeah," Tori sighed. "Now all we need is someone to drive them."

Sensei walked over towards the four. "Blake and Hunter will follow their destiny," he assured them, "whatever that may be."

"That's weird," Cam frowned.

"What? Finally find something you can't figure out?" Shane smirked.

Cam rolled his eyes at the air ninja. "No," he retorted. "I've scanned the Thunder Zords for damage, but I keep coming up with this non-functional retro-fit."

"Could you repeat that with fewer syllables?" Tori asked, very confused.

"There's a piece that doesn't do anything," Dani said simply, causing Shane and Tori to stare. "What? After getting to know Cam well enough for about a year, you learn the geek speak."

"The geek speak's cool," Cam told her. "Anyway, she's right. This one piece doesn't have any purpose, but it is integral to the overall design. I'd just love to know what the deal is with it."

Shane hid a laugh. "Wouldn't that count as something you can't figure out?"

Cam glared at him while Shane and Tori laughed, Dani not being able to contain her grin either.

-NS-

Hunter and Blake rode to the beach, as they promised Dustin they would. Riding helped them clear their thoughts, and they needed that. Especially after the events of them being evil.

When they parked their bikes, Blake took in the scenery while Hunter caught his breath. "Man," Blake smiled. "I could definitely chill here for awhile."

Hunter looked over to his brother. "So, that's a vote for staying?"

"Just seems like everything we've been through," the Navy ninja explained, "it must be for a reason."

Hunter shook his head. "Don't get all Zen on me, dude."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Hey, we both know it's the right thing to do."

As they were walking back to their bikes, a familiar green alien appeared before them. "To ranger, or not to ranger?" Choobo smirked. "What a stupid question."

"Yo, dude," Hunter said, confronting him. "Private conversation."

"Yeah, what do you want, anyway?" Blake asked.

"I'm thinking.. Revenge!" Choobo shouted as he fired lasers at the brothers. They dove out of the way, and got ready to morph.

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM! POWER OF THUNDER."

The Thunder Rangers got into defensive stances, only to be sucked into an alternate dimension in Choobo's backpack.

"Two thunder rangers on ice," Choobo laughed maniacally. "Who's the evil genius now?"

-NS-

Choobo sat in the woods, chanting. "Spirits of the dark ninjas! I call on you! Give me more power!" He patted his pack where the Thunder Rangers were. "My precious."

Hunter and Blake found themselves in a dark place, purple smoke everywhere. "Nice look," Blake smirked. Before he could finish his thought, a green blur came from nowhere and slashed the two to the ground. They looked up to find the same green alien that had captured them.

"You're powers are no good here," Choobo told them. "My alternate world might seem scary at first, but you'll get used to it.. after a few hundred years!"

"Sorry," Blake snapped. "But we won't be staying!" He was about to attack, but his brother held him back.

"Hold up!" Hunter warned. "We gotta be careful. This is his house."

"That's right, little ranger!" Choobo cackled. "And you'll never get out! But don't worry. After I capture the other rangers, you'll have plenty of company!"

"Not gonna happen," the Crimson Ranger growled.

"You will learn to respect me, or you will suffer a fate worse than you can imagine!" Choobo threatened, disappearing. He reappeared, much larger. "Now take a whiff of this," he said, blowing into the ninjas' faces.

"Nasty!" Hunter groaned.

"Gross!" Blake exclaimed.

-NS-

Tori and Shane meditated for a bit while Dani sat while Cam watched the monitor screen. "Any luck?" She asked.

Cam sighed. "No. And it doesn't help that my mind has been preoccupied."

"Care to talk about it?"

Cam shook his head. He may have been obvious the other day, but if there was a chance she still didn't have a clue, he didn't want her to feel obligated to choose him. He wanted her to be happy. "It's nothing," he told her with a convincing smile. "I'm just wondering about my training."

Dani frowned. She knew him better than that, but she also know he'd tell her when he was ready. "If you're sure."

He looked over, giving her a smirk. "So. You and Hunter."

The girl rolled her eyes. "What about me and Hunter? We're friends."

"Oh, c'mon, Dan," he nudged. "It's obvious he still likes you."

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Yeah, he does, and he seems like a great guy."

"But?"

"But I don't know him that well," she continued. "And, frankly, part of me is still hurting after what they did. I know it wasn't their fault, but you know I don't let my walls down easy."

Cam nodded. "You'd rather enter a relationship with someone you can trust."

"Exactly."

The two sat in silence before Cam spoke softly. "It doesn't hurt to try."

Before the conversation could continue, a loud groan filled Ninja Ops as the Earth ninja entered. Dani chuckled. "Okay, why are you moping? Did Tori break your bike again?"

"Hey!" Tori frowned, getting up from her spot along with Shane.

"Oh, hey Tor."

"What's up, Dustin?" Shane asked, ignoring the girls.

Dustin sighed. "I was gonna meet Blake and Hunter at the beach for a ride. But when I got there, I only saw their bikes."

It was Dani's turn to frown. "What?"

"Yeah," Dustin nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"Blake and Hunter aren't the most reliable guys," Shane said. "But leaving their bikes? No way!"

"I don't know about you, but I smell a rodent," Tori said. She quickly added, "No offense, Sensei," after realizing her word choice.

"None taken, Tori," the guinea pig assured her. "I, too, suspect foul play."

"And it probably has something to do with this," Cam told them, bringing up Choobo on the screen, chanting something. "I'm assuming he's not there for the scenery."

"I don't know, dude," Dustin replied. "That place is kinda cool. Especially this time of year." The five looked at him, wondering how he thinks of that stuff. "Right," he said sheepishly as the four went to morph.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

The four left on their Tsunami Cycles to find Choobo in the middle of the forest. "Where are our friends?" Shane demanded.

"Why don't you join them?" Choobo asked back. "There's room for four more inside."

"Um, No," Dani said firmly.

"Boo hoo, I'm hurt," Choobo smirked. "But not surprised. How 'bout some new playmates instead?" He summoned the Kelzaks. As they thought they were through, Choobo sent more and more of the creatures, causing the rangers to be outnumbered. But Tori used her Sonic Fin and destroyed them.

The rangers got out the Striker, but Choobo struck them down with his giant staff.

After, Shane asked, "You guys okay?"

"No," Dani grumbled.

"I think so," Dustin assured him.

" _Guys,"_ Cam's voice came over the communicator. " _I've locked onto Choobo's genetic encoding and found the routing system to the dimension in his pack. It's the key to releasing the Thunder Rangers."_

"You guys get that?" Shane asked, confused.

Dustin smirked. "Yeah, right."

Dani shook her head. "Even I didn't get that, Cam."

" _To get Hunter and Blake out, you need to slash the tubing that connects the control center on his chest to his backpack."_

"On it!" the four rangers replied. They split up, then rejoined to slash the tubing. "Ninja power!" Soon enough, the two were out.

"We're back," Hunter realized. "That was just weird." Blake agreed.

"Hey!" Shane shouted as the four ran up to them.

"You guys okay?" Tori asked.

"We're fine," Hunter assured her before finding Choobo in front of them again.

"You Rangers and your teamwork really cheese me off!" Choobo scowled.

"You guys ready?"

"Oh yeah!"

The six rangers put in a team effort to defeat Choobo. When they had worn him down, they put together their weapons and aimed for the alien. He had other plans though.

"WAIT!" He screamed.

"What now?" Shane frowned.

"I wanna have a puppet show," Choobo replied. "I'll be the puppeteer, you be my puppets!" He used his powers to bring three of the Wind Rangers over to his side, pointing the Storm Striker at the brothers.

"NO!" Hunter yelled.

"I'm holding the strings here, now do what I do," Choobo told them, trying to make Shane pull the trigger.

"I won't do it!" Shane refused, trying to resist.

Hunter growled. "Choobo's going down!" He pointed the Thunder Cannon at him and the four.

"Hunter, be careful," Blake warned. "If you hit the Rangers, it would strip them of their powers!"

"We don't have any choice bro!" his brother argued, putting his finger on the trigger.

"He's got a point, right?" Choobo smirked, patting Shane's head.

Dani growled in ignorance. "Hunter! Do it!" she yelled. "I don't think we can fight it for much longer!"

"Can you do it?" Blake asked his brother.

Hunter wanted to. But he couldn't. Not without hurting his friends. He'd done too much of that already. "No, I can't risk it." He took his finger off the trigger and threw the weapon aside.

"I knew you didn't have it in you!" Choobo grinned. "Two powerless Thunder rangers coming up!" He put more power into the spell, almost making Shane pull the trigger.

"C'mon," Shane told himself. "You can break this." They did, and ducked. Hunter hit the alien with his Thunder Blaster. Blake kicked him, and the six regrouped.

"Nice moves, you guys!" Tori praised.

"Yeah, definitely smooth," Dustin agreed.

"Good job, Hunter," Shane told him.

"Yeah, thanks for not blowing us to bits," Dani smiled.

Hunter nodded. "No worries."

"Hello! I'm still working here!" Choobo grumbled as he got to his feet.

The rangers looked up and nodded."Let's try this again!" Shane shouted.

"You got it!" Hunter nodded. They hit him, but it wasn't enough to destroy him. They found him there, laughing hysterically.

"Dammit!" Dani frowned. "Why don't you die already?"

"Don't count me out yet!" Choobo yelled as he stumbled forward. "I still have one trick up my sleeve!" He pulled out a scroll. "This Scroll of Empowerment! Now you're really gonna get it!" He threw it up in the air, and the rangers watched him grow.

Shane spoke into his morpher. "Cam! It's zord time!"

 _"They're on their way,"_ Cam sighed into the communicator. _"Now if we can only figure out what that mystery piece does."_

The rangers formed their Megazords and tried to attack, but Choobo blocked, dodged, and hit them back.

Back at Ops, Cam tried to figure out the mystery piece. He wanted the rangers to win together against Choobo. Then it hit him. Together.

"That's it!"

He contacted them. " _Guys, that part I was telling you about? I figured out what it does! Check this out!"_ He sent Hunter and Shane power disks.

When they got them, they were confused. "Thanks Cam,," Shane said, "but how about filling us in on the big secret?"

"Yeah," Hunter frowned.

" _The only way you're gonna beat Choobo is to combine your megazords."_

"What?" Blake exclaimed.

"No way!" Dustin grinned.

"Frick yes!" Dani beamed.

"How?" Tori asked.

" _Call the MiniZord,"_ Cam told them. " _He was part of the program all along."_

"The MiniZord?" Hunter asked.

The two on the other end smiled. " _Just trust me."_

" _It will be good to see the powers of Wind and Thunder working together,"_ Sensei noted.

The rangers agreed, calling on the MiniZord.

"Woah," they said.

"It's so cute!" Dani squealed.

"I am Minizord," the robot said. "Storm Megazord, Thunder Megazord, Combine! Thunderstorm Megazord Formation!"

The Thunderstorm Megazord was formed, and the six rangers beat the green alien. This time, he stayed down.

-NS-

"See you tomorrow. Lock up okay?" Kelly asked as she walked out the door.

"Roger Hannah." Dustin said.

"I wonder what he wants." Blake thought aloud.

"Probably to talk to you guys." Dustin answered.

"Lets go find out." Hunter said as he and his brother walked to talk to the man.

-NS-

"I can't believe you said no." Dustin said. The Rangers stood around Ops, not believing their ears. "Factory Blue, thats nuts!"

"We had something more important to do." Blake said.

"Huh?" Shane asked.

"We're in." Hunter smiled.

"Oh yeah!" The five from the Wind Team grinned and started high-fiving and hugging.

"I knew it!" Dani said in excitement while the team formed a group hug.

"You have made a difficult decision, I believe it is a correct one." Sensei nodded, also smiling.

"Yeah no lie, this is sweet." Dustin said, grinning.

"You're one of us now," Shane told them, also beaming.

The group smiled, knowing what they had was perfect.


	14. Boxing Bopp-A-Roo

_**A/N: Hello friends! As promised, Friday is here, so here's chapter 14! Thank you to my reviewers for nothing but kind words, and I'm glad you all are getting a kick out of Dani! She's fun to write about! You'll see another chapter somewhere developing her character a bit.**_

 _ **Updates are now going to be weekly (every Friday ideally), since college is crazy and I'm writing more and more new material. It's exciting but time consuming, both school and writing. So please have patience with me. If I don't upload at least biweekly, please get on me. I'm trying to do better.**_

 _ **Thanks again for everything! And as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I has no ownership over anything in this story but Dani.**

Chapter 14: Boxing Bopp-A-Roo

A Thunder Ninja and a Wind ninja were sparring on the beach. At first it was thought to be friendly training, but later turned into a fiery competition as Shane and Hunter fought more aggressively. It was almost like they were fierce enemies again, being cocky and ruthless. After minutes of this, Sensei said, "Enough," and kicked the two boys to the ground.

"We've talked about the Wind and Thunder Ninjas working together as one," Sensei reminded them. "What have we said?"

Shane breathed heavily as he spoke. "A competitive spirit is healthy-"

"As long as you don't you don't sacrifice honor and friendship," Hunter finished, glaring at the Air Ninja.

"Dude, I was right in the middle of saying that," Shane growled as he went at Hunter again.

Sensei sighed. "Alright. Push-ups. Drop."

The boys frowned and separated. "Good one," Hunter snapped as the two dropped. When they did, both boys went faster and faster to see who was the better ranger.

-NS-

When Tori and Dani walked into Storm Chargers, a banner for Total Trek hung as the store was filled with people. "Looks great," Tori smiled. "If you had surfing, I'd be all over this Total Trek."

"Volleyball wouldn't be bad either," Dani agreed.

Dustin scoffed as he walked under the banner. "Oh yeah, that'd be fair, you blowing everyone out of the water, and you spiking the ball at everyone's heads?"

"And the problem with that is . . . ?" Tori said, laughing along with Dani.

Tommy walked into the shop and spotted his sister and friends. "Hey, punk," she smiled.

"Tommy!" Dani cried, enveloping his older sibling in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I just happened to be going through Blue Bay, so thought I'd check out the place where you all hang out," he replied, looking around. "It's pretty sweet."

"Shoosh yeah," Dani replied smiling.

"Guys," Kelly called. "Check this course out." She pointed to the course map hanging on the wall. "We start at the skate park, it's a run to the motocross track, and then an urban climb to finish. You entering, Dustin?"

The Motocrosser shook his head. "I'm never getting on a skateboard again," he said, shaking off bad memories. "I've still got bruises from last year."

"Oh yeah," Dani remembered. "That was when I first moved here. Good times."

Dustin looked at her. "How is me getting hurt, like, ten times a good time?"

"Because it was funny," Dani laughed, Tori snickering in the background.

Dustin glared. "How about you, Dani? You gonna compete?"

Dani shook her head. "Nu-uh. I can skateboard fine, but BMX and Moto are actually really different. My first time on your bike was my last."

Dustin laughed at this. "Good times." Dani just stuck her tongue out at the earth ninja.

Tommy laughed at his baby sister. "Sounds like it would've been hilarious," Tommy teased.

Dani glared at the older guy. "Shut up."

Shane and Hunter walked into the shop, Shane smiling. "Hey, you got an entry form for my kickflip-challenged friend here?"

"Individual?" Kelly asked. "Or are you two entering as a team?"

Hunter scoffed. "Us? Together?"

"You got a better chance of seeing me on blade skates," Shane said.

"I was just asking," she shrugged while Tori, Dani, and Dustin frowned. "Well, you're the second one to sign up, Hunter," the redhead said, giving Hunter a entry form.

"Who's first?" Hunter asked her.

Shane brushed off Hunter's shoulder before walking out. "You're toast, dirt boy."

The three others laughed at this, but Hunter stopped Shane. "Wait, do you hear that? It sounds like uh . . . Your hopes and dreams crashing down around you." He brushed past Shane, who follows him out.

The four watched the two supposed leaders leave. Tori smirked. "And here we see alpha males in their natural habitat," She laughed, Dani and Dustin joining her.

Tommy frowned. "If those two are acting like this now, what's it going to be like when they fight for the world's sake?"

-NS-

Later that Day, Tommy was packing his jeep by Dani's apartment. She frowned. "Do you have to go?"

"Yeah," the former ranger sighed. "But at least I could stay for a few days."

"Never seems long enough," the girl whined, pulling her brother in for a hug.

Tommy squeezed her tight, giving her a soft kiss on her head. "I'll be back," he promised. "And come back to Angel Grove from time to time," he added. "Mom and Dad miss you like crazy."

Dani chuckled. "I know. They call me every day. But I'll come home after I graduate ninja school," she assured him.

He smiled at her. "Good. Now, what to do about you and Cam?"

"What?"

Tommy shook his head. "Dan, you can fool everyone else. You can't fool me."

Dani sighed. "What am I gonna do, Tom? I like Cam, I really do, but.."

"Hunter?"

"Yeah," the ninja nodded.

Tommy put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Go with your gut, sis. You usually aren't wrong." He then gave her a serious look. "But if by some chance you are, and if you need either of them to be beaten-"

Dani laughed. "Trust me. I know." He kissed his sister on the forehead once more before leaving her to walk to the skate park, still thinking.

-NS-

At the track, Dustin watched as Shane geared up to practice his Motocross for the Total Trek. Dustin was telling him how to ride, since he barely knew a thing about it. "So, you gotta balance yourself on the bike, okay?" Dustin explained. "Not too far forward, not too far back.." He frowned when he saw the Air Ninja wasn't listening. "Yo, Shane!" he yelled, knocking Shane on the head. "Have you heard anything I've said?"

Shane shrugged. "Look, all I need to know is how to beat Hunter."

Dustin scoffed. "Dude, have you seen him ride? He's like, one step below Factory Pro."

Shane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He put his helmet on and started his bike. When he started, he rode right into a bale of hay.

-NS-

At the skatepark, Hunter rode down a ramp just to fall off his skateboard again. Blake and Dani shook their heads at the older Thunder ninja. They helped him up before Blake asked, "So, what do you call that?

Hunter winced at the pain in his back. "I'm just getting loose."

"Yeah, so is your board, bro," Blake smirked.

"Yeah, don't get too loose, Hunter," Dani added. "Don't want you to break yourself."

Hunter shook his head and growled. "I gotta beat this guy. I don't care what I have to do."

"My advice to you? Get a stunt double," Blake laughed before watching Hunter fall again.

"Or at least more gear," Dani giggled. As she hung out with Hunter more, she got to see his passion. And she loved that about him. But maybe not the way she thought.

-NS-

Shane was running to train for the Trek in downtown Blue Bay. Coincidentally, so was Hunter. The two ran by each other, one smirking at the other.

"I thought I smelled something," Shane said.

"It's called defeat," Hunter snapped back. "And by the way, since this thing is open to the public, no ninja tricks." Shane rolled his eyes at the blonde. Like he'd do such a thing.

The boys' running came to a stop when they saw a hideous monster in their way."Splendiverous, gentlemen!" The alien said with a weird smile. "I'm the Boxing Bopp-A-Roo, a bouncin' balley of bodacious bombacity!" The two rangers gave the monster confused looks until he fired a red laser at them, putting them on the ground. "Check me out! I'm the prognivigator of powerful punches!"

Shane looked at Hunter. "Prog-what?"

Hunter shook his head. "Forget it. Time to morph. THUNDER-STORM-!"

Shane grabbed his hand and glared. "I say when it's time to morph!"

"What?!"

"Just follow my lead and stay out of the way!" As Bopp-A-Roo fired a laser at them, the two rolled out of the way. The red ranger looked over to the crimson one. "Now it's time to morph."

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

The two stood in their bright colored suits, ready to fight. "HEY!" Shane yelled. "Didn't you see the signs? The zoo's that way!

"I'm flabbergasted!" The monster retorted.

"I'll get him!" Hunter said, leaping forward.

"No, I will!" Shane argued and lept forward as well. They slashed him before he hit them with a wall of flame.

"This is banglorious!" Bopp-A-Roo laughed.

Hunter growled. "I'm getting tired of trying to understand this guy."

"I'm just plain tired," Shane snarled and brought out his Hawk Blaster. "Bye-bye, Bopp-A-Roo!"

The monster stumbled back, but he just smiled. "Have you seen my fabulous, banglorious wheel of fun?"

Shane was about to fire another blast from his Hawk Blaster, but Hunter stopped him. "You already tried that."

"What are you doing?!" Shane screamed back. "I said I'll handle it!"

"Blubbering, bickering boys," Bopp-A-Roo interrupted. "Ready to get blasted?" He fired a blast of electricity at the two, but Hunter tried to push it back.

"Let me handle this!" Hunter told Shane. "Thunder style!" He kept pushing the electricity back to the alien, then went to full power and hit him.

Bopp-A-Roo got up in pain. "He who brawls and runs away lives to brawl another day!" He took off running.

"Hey!" Shane shouted, but it was no use. He turned to glare at the Thunder Ranger inside his helmet.

"What?"

"Power down." The rangers demorphed, and the glare was apparent. "You let him bail! I would've pounded that hot-potato!"

Hunter scoffed. "You? All YOU did was get in my way!"

Shane shook his head. "This is so lame. I'm going for a run." He sprinted off in one direction, leaving Hunter to stare at him.

Hunter caught up with him and the two raced through the forest and the beach, shoving each other as they went.

-NS-

The four other rangers were back at Ops, watching their teammates fighting it out. Tori was pacing around the room while Blake and Dustin sat by the laptop and Dani and Cam were at the monitor. Dustin sighed. "Those guys are still at it!"

"So, let me get this straight," Tori said, walking over to the laptop. "There's a kickboxing-robot-kangaroo bouncing around Blue Bay Harbor, and they're playing Follow-the-Leader?"

"More like shove-the-leader-out-of-the-way-so-I-can-win," Dani nodded, leaving Cam's side and joining the rangers. "If those two don't work together at all, they're never gonna win anything."

"Sensei we need help here," Dustin frowned. "Something Sensei-like."

Sensei smiled. "They must both learn that the best quality of a leader is to understand when to be a follower."

Dustin hid a laugh. "That's way deep, especially for a rodent."

-NS-

When the two Reds finished their run through the park, they sat down on a bench together. After taking a few heavy breaths, Shane said, "Good run."

Hunter pretended to be surprised. "Wait, did you just give me props?"

Shane laughed. "Hey, don't get all weird on me. I'm just saying-"

"That maybe Sensei has a point?" Hunter finished.

Shane nodded. "The guy's usually pretty right on," he continued. "That's why he's the teacher."

Hunter sighed, knowing that Sensei and Shane were right. "Blake and I are used to being on our own," he told him. "No parents, no sensei, no one to answer to except for each other."

Shane looked at the ninja in front of him. "Hey, look. You got us now. All of us. And we look out for each other. That's the way it's gotta be."

Hunter smiled at the other red ranger. "I hear ya." The two hopped up and continued to run. Not as enemies or rivals, but as teammates and friends.

As they were running, the ground shook beneath them, and they saw something large streak down from above. Hunter looked at shane. "Wanna take a guess?"

Shane nodded. "Better not take any chances."

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF THUNDER!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

The two rangers ran to see what had streaked down, thinking it was the thing they had fought earlier. Shane looked from behind a trailer to find the crazy kangaroo monster. He looked back to his teammate. "That's him alright. He must've paid for an upgrade. Dude, we better call for backup this time."

"Right," Hunter agreed.

-NS-

While the rangers were lounging around Ops, a message came from the two red rangers. " _Cam, the kangaroo clown's back for round two,"_ came Shane's voice. " _We need help!"_

Cam nodded. "Right." He looked to the others, who nodded and stood.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM!"

"THUNDER STORM!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

"POWER OF THUNDER!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

The six rangers stood before the ugly kangaroo. He smiled, happy with his upgrade. "I'm a maniacally mad marsupial!"

Tori frowned. "What did he say?"

Shane shrugged. "No idea."

"A convenient conflagitory configuration!" Bopp-A-Roo said, hitting them all with a beam and knocking them to the ground. "Haha, rumblified rangers!"

Shane growled, pissed off at the mad-speaking alien. "I've had enough of this!" The Storm Striker and Thunder Blaster were formed and fired, but Bopp-A-Roo wasn't damaged, and the blasts were deflected onto the rangers.

"What happened?" Shane asked.

"Some kind of shield," Hunter answered.

"More like a force field," Dani added.

A high squealing sound came from behind them. There stood Marah, Kapri, and Zurgane. "I did it!" Marah screamed happily. "It worked! My shield worked. How cool am I?!"

Kapri rolled her eyes. "How lucky are you?" She retorted.

"Great," Tori said sarcastically. "The whole family's here."

"Let's do this!" Shane yelled. All charged, but all were knocked down. Shane landed onto a car before asking Cam, "Cam, what's the deal with this guy?"

" _Bopp-A-Roo can only be destroyed by deflecting its own energy back onto itself,"_ Cam said, frowning.

Hunter was thrown back, too, and landed next to Shane. "We need help!" Shane yelled, then looked to Hunter, getting an idea. "Cam, what if there were a way for Hunter and I to combine our energies? Would that be enough to bounce the beam back?"

Hunter nodded at this idea. "We could give it a go!"

Dani looked to them, also on the ground. "Do it!"

"Cam," Hunter said into the communicator. "Can you draw the power from me?"

" _It's worth a try,"_ Cam replied, typing madly on the computer. " _Here goes. I'm channeling it directly into your Ninja Sword, Shane."_

"Got it!" Shane yelled, holding his sword. "Hope this works!" Shane struck Bopp-A-Roo with his now-thunder-powered Sword and he fell to the Storm Striker and Thunder Blaster were formed again, and the rangers got ready to fire.

"Not so fast!" Kapri yelled, stepping by her teammates. "You think hers was good? Try mine." She put a force field around her, Zurgane, Bopp-A-Roo, and Marah.

Tori's eyes widened. "That looks pretty strong!"

"What now?" Shane asked.

Hunter looked to the Winds. "What if we combined ALL of our weapons!"

"I like the sound of that!" Dani smiled, seeing two of her close friends working together.

"That might work!" Shane agreed.

The weapons were combined to form the Thunderstorm Cannon, and the three minions left, leaving the Boxing Bopp-A-Roo to be destroyed.

Cam cheered from Ops. "I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised."

His father smiled. "You underestimated the power of their leadership.

The grown kangaroo was destroyed by the great teamwork of the two academies.

-NS-

At the Total Trek, Blake, Tori, Dani, and Dustin cheered the two fearless leaders on. Shane won the skateboarding section, Hunter ripped up the track and won the motocross, and the two boys tied for rock climbing.

Kelly smiled as she presented the Total Trek Trophy. "And the winner of this year's Total Trek is the team of Shane and Hunter!" The boys high-fived each-other and took the trophy gladly.

Tori stepped under the trophy and congratulated her friends. "Not bad!"

Shane smiled at her. "We're trying to learnify with great knowledgeness."

Tori's face changed from happy to confused in a second. "What?"

Hunter laughed at her confusion. "We're just getting to hang together better," he said, high-fiving his teammate again. The high-five turned into an arm-wrestle, and the two boys were at it again.

Tori sighed. "At least it's a start."

Dani grinned and wandered towards the parking lot. She walked towards her jeep before realizing someone was running after her. "Dani!" Hunter called.

She paused, turning towards the blond. "Hey Hunter."

"You good?" He asked.

Dani nodded. "Yeah, just thinking a lot," that's all.

Hunter sighed. "Me too."

"About what?"

"You," he told her. "Us. Whatever we are."

She smiled weakly. "What do you want us to be?"

Hunter looked at her, knowing she wouldn't hurt him. "Look," he started. "I thought you were just a hot chick at first."

Dani laughed. "And now?"

"Now I see a girl that I wanna protect," Hunter continued. "Someone that I feel I can trust and be myself with."

Dani looked up at him. "So.."

"I have a crush on you," Hunter sighed, sitting down on a stack of tires. "And I know you're falling hard for someone else."

This caught the brunette by surprise. How did he know? "Hunter..."

"Dan, I see the way Blake and Tori look at each other. It's similar to the way you look at Cam, but with much more of something. I noticed it when I saw you defend him when we were being Lothor's pawns."

"Hunter, you can't blame yourself for that," she said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If I were avenging my brother, I'd do the same."

"Then you can't blame yourself for letting me go," he told her, smiling gently. "Look. I know I flirted. I have a crush on you. But what you and Cam have, and could have," he laughed. "is much more than that. I'd be stupid to stand in the way."

"So..." Dani muttered, her cheeks turning pink. "Where does that leave us?"

He pulled the white ninja in for a hug. "Here," he answered. "I can get over losing you to Cam as a girl. But I don't want to lose you as a friend." They let go of the embrace, and Hunter looked her in the eyes. "But if Cam hurts you, he's getting his butt kicked."

Dani giggled. "By you and me both."

Hunter chuckled, and stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

Dani smiled more confidently this time, and instead stuck out her pinky. "Always."

He grinned back, pinky promising the girl a friendship to last their entire lives. And she believed it.


	15. Pork Chopped

****

_**A/N: Hello friends! It's near 2:30 am where I am on a Friday! So here's the new chapter! If you loved the last chapter, you might love this one even more... Stuff happens...**_

 _ **Thank you lovelies for enjoying reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it! It's so fun to enjoy things together, and you all have sent nothing but encouraging things, which is something I've needed more of lately. I'm also working on a oneshot made when Dani first entered the academy and how that process went for her, which includes her and Cam meeting. It's gonna be a thing, I just haven't decided when. So stay tuned.**_

 _ **But thanks all again for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I love them and you. So see ya next Friday! And as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 ** _Paige_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own Dani Oliver alone. Nothing more. Nothing else.**

Chapter 15: Pork Chopped

In a secret Ninja Operations base, under a table that was not meant to cover two people, the red and yellow power rangers were struggling. And not with their training, but they were trying to do a task for their Sensei. "This is so brutal," Dustin sighed.

Shane nodded. "I heard that."

"Problem, gentlemen?" Sensei asked. The two shook their heads and continued crawling until they made the AV cord out from under the table.

"Nice one," Shane told Dustin, as he got out and got the cord from Dustin while Tori and Blake sparred in the background.

"Those who fail to install cable in time for science fiction marathon will feel the wrath of the unhappy guinea pig," Sensei warned, sitting in his guinea pig-sized chair in front of his guinea pig-sized TV set.

"Sensei, no disrespect," Dustin said, "but I'm pretty sure there was nothing about Cable TV in any-"

Shane patted the earth ninja's shoulder. "He was kidding, dude."

Dustin laughed. "Oh."

Shane made the final adjustments. "And, action!" The TV went from snow to proper cable.

"Isn't this a little low-tech?" Dustin questioned. "I mean, Cam's got, like, a thousand channels on that-"

Cam and Dani walked up behind him. "How many times do we have to go over this?" Cam sighed. "The satellite surveillance system is not a home theater."

"If it was, you wouldn't see me off of it," Dani added.

Tori and Blake were still sparring behind the group. "I'll take it easy on you this time," Blake teased.

"Don't let the blond hair fool you," Tori smirked. "You're going down." Tori pushed the thunder ninja down, his hand getting stuck in cable chords. When he got up to punch the water ninja, he unplugged Shane and Dustin's hard work, and Sensei's entertainment. Tori giggled.

Cam rolled his eyes. "Well, that worked out well."

Dani laughed. "One unhappy guinea pig headed Blake's way."

Blake stumbled before getting up, running over to the hut breathlessly. "Sorry bro," he apologized. He reached over to the TV. "Here, maybe I can help."

"No, no," Cam refused, smacking Blake's hand away. "I'll take it from here." He looked at all of the ninjas, who backed off.

Shane decided to change the subject. "You guys wanna head to the skate park?" He asked. "I gotta practice for my demo.

"Actually," Tori frowned, "I was just gonna give Blake a ride to meet Hunter."

Shane nodded sadly. "Well, you're still coming tomorrow right?" 3:00."

"Yeah," Tori said. "I wouldn't miss it."

"I'll meet you later Shane," Dani told him. "But tomorrow is for sure."

"Shane grinned. "Alright." The air, water, earth, and thunder ninjas walked out for the night, leaving Dani with Sensei and Cam. She playfully punched the boy on the shoulder.

He winced as he finished replugging the cable in. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Because I'm too awake to go home," Dani explained, "And I'm up for a movie. Are you?"

Cam smiled. "Actually, that sounds great after a long day of coding and cable-ing. What movie?" Dani went over to her bag and grabbed a dvd case and showed it to him. "The Princess Bride?" He chuckled. "You don't have to watch it for my sake, Dan."

"Hey, you got me obsessed with this movie," Dani told the boy. "This is my copy, which I managed to watch through to the end this time."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Think you can again?"

"One way to find out," Dani grinned, standing closer.

"I'll make the popcorn."

"I'll turn on the guest TV."

The two ran to do their own things before settling down on the floor of the guest room to watch the classic movie together. During the scene of the fire swamp, Dani lay her head on Cam's lap. He looked down at the girl. "Are we finding out so soon?" He teased.

Dani stuck her tongue out. "No."

"Really? Because this happened the last time I watched this with you. And you fell asleep ten minutes later, if that."

She glared at him. "This part just isn't my favorite. And your lap happens to be a nice pillow."

Cam rolled his eyes. "At least I'm good for something," he joked, earning a punch from Dani. "OW!"

"Don't talk about yourself like that," Dani warned. "You're an amazing human being, Cameron. Don't forget that."

A smile and a blush made an appearance on his face. "You too, Danielle."

She grinned before watching more of the movie. Dani was awake until the pit of despair, and then her eyes started to close. "Cam?" She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Can I stay over?"

He smiled at the girl. "As you wish," he stated, before the ninja fell asleep.

 _As you wish._

-NS-

Kelly took inventory on her shop with the Bradley brothers. "And I think we need to order more skateboard tracks," she told Blake.

"Okay," Blake nodded. He heard his brother behind him and started to grin when he looked at Hunter's hands. "No way! You got them! Excellent, man."

Tori rode up on a mountain bike besides the two. "What are those?" She asked, looking at the papers in their hands.

"Tickets to the martial arts film festival," Hunter explained. "They're showing _Fists of Fire 2._ "

Tori smirked. "Hoping to pick up a few pointers."

"Yeah, ha ha," Blake laughed sarcastically. "Listen, what are you gonna be doing? You wanna come?"

Tori smiled, glad Blake finally asked her out. "Sure. I love those old kung fu movies."

Blake grinned. "Great," he said. "Why don't you meet us tomorrow at the theater around 3?"

"3," Tori affirmed. "Got it. See ya then!"

"Great," Blake said.

"Great," Hunter mocked.

Kelly walked up behind the blue ranger. "So you're not going to the skate demo?" She questioned, concerned.

Tori's eyes widened. "The demo is tomorrow?"

Kelly shook her head. "Don't tell me you forgot. Shane's been talking about it all week."

Tori sighed, feeling completely stupid. "I can't believe this," she muttered to herself, hopping off the bike, leaving it there for Kelly to put away. Little did they know the two evil female ninjas stood there, spying and giggling.

-NS-

At the demo, crowds of people gathered to watch different skaters do what they had been working for. Within those crowds were Dustin, Dani, and an unfocused Tori, all there to cheer on Shane. Kelly, who was working at the Blue Bay Harbor Skate Comp, walked over to the group of teens. She smiled when she saw the blond. "Glad you worked out your scheduling problem, Tori." She then turned to the dark haired skater. "Shane, you're up next. Good luck."

"Thanks," Shane said nervously.

"Are you gonna go for the 180-fakie to backslide railslide?" Dustin asked.

Shane sighed. "I might. I've never landed one, but now's as good a time as any."

Dani grinned. "I bet you'll nail it. You've been working on it for a few months, and you've come really far. I say do it."

Dustin agreed. "You can do it, dude. Right, Tori?" He then turned to the water ninja, who seemed to be in her own little world. As she was unresponsive, Dustin nudged her. "Hey, Tori."

Tori looked up. "Huh?" She then realized she was missing the conversation by thinking about her "scheduling problem." She smiled weakly. "Yeah, smile that fake rail."

Shane frowned. "Hey, you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

Dani nodded. "You're extremely out of it, Tor. That's not the surfer I know."

Dustin looked over to the other two. "They're right." He not-so-subtly pulled the red and white ninjas aside. "Maybe it's the whole clone Tori thing again with the camera in the clothes."

"Yeah," Shane thought."

"Nah, it's Tori alright," Dani assured them.

Tori frowned. Even though it'd be nice to have a clone right now, she didn't have that luxury. "You guys, I'm fine. Now go, Shane. Make me proud."

Shane shrugged, put on his helmet, high fived Dustin, hugged Dani, and took off.

Minutes later, the announcer's voice boomed over the park. "And next on the street course is Shane Clarke!" Shane started to do his best, and while Dani and Dustin cheered on the skater, Tori used her ninja streak abilities to go to the old movie theater where the film festival was being held. As she ran off, Marah was spying. "The Blue Ranger!"

-NS-

Hunter and Blake stood in front of the theater waiting for their blue ranger friend. They didn't know, however, that the person working the concession stand was none other the pink-haired Kapri. She heard her sister through their communicator. " _Was she supposed to leave?"_

"Of course not," Kapri snapped. "We'll just have to take care of her later."

Tori ran in to see the Bradley brothers standing there. "Hi, guys," she greeted.

"Wait, maybe not," Kapri spoke, and returned to "her" station.

Blake grinned. "You made it! I was starting to get worried there. I thought it was some kind of Kelzak thing or something." The blond girl laughed and continued to the counter.

A man dressed as a chicken walked up to them. "Refreshments, anyone?" he asked, bawking away.

Kapri slid behind the counter and cut him off. "Can I help you?"

Since she, at the time, seemed less creepy than the bawking chicken-man, Hunter asked for popcorn.

Tori walked up. "You guys got the tickets," she said. "This is my treat."

"Here," the pink-haired girl offered, shoving popcorn into Tori's hands. "It's leftover from last week's sci-fi promotion." Tori offered her money from her pocket, but Kapri refused. She couldn't use human money in space.

The blonde girl smiled. "Okay. Well, thanks!" She checked her watch, widening her eyes. "Save me a seat," she told them, shoving the popcorn into Blake's hand's. "I'll be right back! She sprinted out the door, leaving the Thunder Rangers confused, and an evil ninja in training concerned.

"Be in the front," Blake muttered before running into the chicken man.

Kapri raced to her communicator. "Two thunders in the house, blue just flew the coop. Be ready in case she shows up." She giggled, thinking their plan was perfect.

-NS-

Shane skated through, doing well. That is, until he lost grip of his board and landed on his butt. The crowd sighed while Dani cringed. "Ouch,." Dustin shook his head, wishing the red ranger could've made it.

Tori, knowing nothing of what happened, streaked over and applauded. "Way to go, Shane! Awesome!" She yelled in oblivion.

Dustin and Dani frowned at Tori. "Didn't you see what just happened?" She asked, not realizing the blonde had been elsewhere.

"He just ate it, big time," Dustin added.

Tori stopped clapping. "Oh," she said, "Right, well, better luck next time, Shane."

"Man, I almost had it!" Shane tried to convince them.

"You look thirsty," Tori told him. "How about a drink, hmm? Be right back!" She sprinted away again, with the three following her.

"Tori! Wait!" Shane cried a little too late.

"Did I miss a class about using ninja powers in public?" Dustin asked.

"I guess we both did," Shane muttered.

"That's probably 'cos we were told to not do specifically just that," Dani said sarcastically.

"Yoo-hoo, rangers!" A voice called. "Over here!" They turned around to find Marah and a bunch of Kelzaks waiting for them. She smiled. "I always forget how cute you two are," she noted, referring to the boys. The Kelzaks stood there staring at the rangers as well, noticing their good looks as well. Marah rolled her eyes. "Hello? Attack!"

The three rangers took off, taking their bunch of Kelzaks and defeating them with ease. They used the plastic chairs that were sitting out to their advantage, throwing them, kicking them, and sitting in them, not necessarily in that order. When they were done, Marah rolled her eyes. "Better go help Kapri," she muttered. And with that, she and the Kelzaks transported out, leaving the rangers to high five each other.

-NS-

Back at the theater, Hunter and Blake were watching the movie. Blake looked anxiously toward the door, waiting for the beautiful blond. "I wonder where Tori is," Blake wondered, shoving more popcorn in his mouth.

Hunter scoffed. "Dude, are you going to eat the whole thing yourself?"

"I'm thinking about it," Blake smirked in return. However, when they reached their hands in to grab more, they were sucked into the bucket.

A moment later, Tori returned. She looked for the brothers, not seeing them anywhere. "Guys?" she whispered.

"Tori!" Blake shouted from the popcorn bucket. "We're down here!" She looked down to see the shrunken, buttery rangers.

"Don't eat the popcorn!" Hunter warned, falling back into the yellow liquid.

"Blake? Hunter?" The chicken man showed up, shushing the blonde. She smiled. "I'm sorry! My friends are in the popcorn and I have to save them."

"Save them?" The chicken man started to laugh maniacally, sounding less and less like a chicken. "You're gonna join them!" He ripped off the chicken costume to reveal that he was a different farm animal, which was a pig. A pig alien monster had trapped her friends in the popcorn. "Kelzaks! It's showtime! Get her!"

Tori picked up the bucket that her friends were trapped in before kicking and hitting Kelzaks in front of the martial arts movie screen. She was doing well, fighting her way out until one minion kicked her in the back and flipped her. The Kelzak took the bucket from the ranger while the monster laughed. "Intermission!" He yelled gleefully. "She ain't in the next act!" The aliens transported away, leaving Tori there disappointed.

"No! Blake! Hunter!"

-NS-

In the bucket, the Thunder ninjas were regaining their balance while covered in yellow gunk. Blake frowned. "What is this stuff?" he asked his brother.

"I don't know," Hunter answered, "but let's get out of it." When he got on his feet, he turned to Blake. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"THUNDER STORM! RANGER FORM!"

They tried to morph, but they were still in the gunky, buttery mess with no ranger suits. "That's not good," Blake muttered, now stuck in the bucket until they knew how to get out.

-NS-

Tori reported back to Ninja Ops with Sensei, Shane, Dani, and Dustin waiting for her. She explained her dilemma, and the guinea pig sighed. "Tori, using your ninja powers for personal gain is a very serious infraction of the ninja code. Not to mention that you let your friend down."

Tori cringed. She knew she screwed up badly. "Shane, I am so sorry," she told the air ninja. "If I had stayed at the demo, none of this would've happened."

"Or you might've been captured, too," Sensei noted. "We cannot predict the future. That is why we have rules to govern the present."

Tori nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

The master turned to his son. "Cam, do you have a reading on this creature's whereabouts?"

Cam looked to the others. "I found a major hotspot at the top of the Harbor office tower," he told the rangers, who were now facing him.

Tori stepped in front. She had a lot of work to do to save the boys and be forgiven by Shane.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

The rangers soared into the air, using their ninja gliders to get there faster. Though Shane was disappointed, he grinned as he flew. "Yeah! I love it when I get to use this thing!" He yelled as the rangers were on their way.

The monster in question stood on the rooftop, looking for things to do. "I got an appetite for destruction, and this town is gonna be the main course!" He yelled.

Shane soared over him, loving his ride. "Sweet!"

"Here, piggy piggy piggy!" Tori taunted.

"Mind if we drop in?" Dustin smirked.

"Doesn't matter. We're gonna do it anyway!" Dani said.

After they landed, the pig grinned evilly. "Well, well, nice entrance. But if you ever want to find your thunder buddies, you better follow my curly tail through the porky portal! Come on, rangers! Come and get me!" He laughed as he stepped through the portal.

"We gotta go after him," Tori told the three, feeling bad still.

"What?" Dustin frowned. "Through that thing?"

"Dustin, they're our teammates," Dani reminded him.

"She's right," Shane nodded. "C'mon!

" _Wait, slow down,"_ Cam said through the communicator. " _I've got a lock on the portal door, but it won't hold for more than about 10 minutes max."_

"We'll call you if we need help," Shane affirmed, ready to save his new teammates.

Cam sighed. " _You're on your own. I'll have no way to contact you while you're inside."_

"Then we'll have to work fast," Shane decided, as he and the rangers jumped through the landed in a place with rocky terrain, and they didn't land in style.

"Oh man," Dustin winced.

"Not another rock quarry," Shane groaned.

"I prefer this to a volcano," Dani stated.

"Don't give him any ideas," Tori muttered, referring to the monster, who stood in front of them.

"Welcome to my sty!" The pig yelled. "Hope you like it, 'cause you're never leaving!"

-NS-

Meanwhile, in the bucket, Blake stood on Hunter's shoulders as they tried to get out. "A little more," Hunter told his brother. "Reach!"

"Almost there!" Blake breathed. "Almost-" Before he could say another word, Blake fell, unbalancing Hunter and bringing him down, too.

"It's no use!" Hunter screamed.

Blake frowned. "You know what the worst part of this is? It's not even butter. We're going to be destroyed by artificial flavoring!" He kicked the butter flavoring in frustration, falling again. He picked up a kernel of popcorn and had an idea. "Wait a minute."

"Is that what I think it is?"

"The unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bucket," Blake grinned. "Maybe we can pop ourselves out of here."

"If the blast doesn't bake us first," Hunter retorted.

"Got another suggestion?" Blake asked. Hunter shook his head, and together they used their ninja powers to pop the kernels. "It's getting hot in here," Blake whined.

"Keep going, it's working!" Hunter told the Navy Ranger, and they kept popping.

-NS-

Little did they know, the rangers could be viewed from a private theater room by Marah, Lothor, Zurgane, and Kapri. "There's so much action in this movie," Marah whined. "Why couldn't we go see a love story?"

"Hey, you make a better door than a window," Lothor retorted. "Sit down."

"Yeah," Kapri nodded."

"Sorry," Marah groaned, walking out of the way.

Zurgane turned to the evil ninja. "Sir, how are we able to witness what is happening in General Trayf's dimension?"

Lothor looked to the alien. "You ever heard of a private screening?" He asked. "Now be quiet. He grinned. "I think we're heading for an exciting climax.

Meanwhile, in Trayf's dimension, the rangers fought tirelessly against him, and neither side was winning. The alien grinned. "That's it? That's all you got?"

"Where are our friends?" Shane demanded.

Trayf smirked. "They went out to get popcorn."

-NS-

The friends in question, were still using their thunder and lightning powers to pop their way out of the bucket. "Keep going," Blake encouraged. "I think she's almost ready to blow."

-NS-

Trayf continued to laugh. "You look tired, rangers," he teased. "Why don't you take a load off?" He sent his blade into the ground, and it struck all four rangers. "It's all about the snout." He used his snout to multiply and attack the rangers, sending them to the ground.

"Ew!" Dustin groaned.

"Why do you have to be so nosy?" Dani muttered.

"Do you finally submit to the power of the pig?" The pig asked maliciously.

"In your dreams!" Shane snapped, getting up.

"The only thing powerful about you is your smell!" Tori yelled.

"Yeah!" Dustin agreed. "You ever heard of soap?"

"Well, I don't think it would help in your case!" Dani barked.

"Put a lid on it!" Trayf told them, summoning a disk and sending it spiraling towards the rangers.

"This one's mine," Shane said. The rangers helped Shane onto it, and he controlled it like a hoverboard. "And I thought the 180-Fakie was tough!" He smirked, before hopping off and hitting Trayf with his own weapon. The rangers took the general down with the Storm Striker before hopping out of the dimension.

Dustin grinned. "That roast is toast!"

Shane high fived the yellow ranger before the white noticed her friends were missing. "Where's Hunter?"

"And Blake?" Tori added. Before they could answer that themselves, the Bradley brothers appeared before their feet, covered in popcorn and even more fake butter.

"Are you guys alright?" Tori asked

"Yeah," Hunter nodded as they struggled to get up even with the Winds' help.

"Butter be," Dani giggled, earning a head shake from the Crimson ranger.

"You kinda reek, though," Dustin frowned. They smelled worse than he usually did.

"Artificial butter flavoring," Hunter explained.

Before they had any time do say anything else, they were interrupted by a giant Trayf. "You didn't think you could destroy me in my own dimension, did ya?"

"We were kinda hoping!" Dustin whined.

"Hope you like your pig extra big," a female voice snickered. Kapri and Marah stood with a band of Kelzaks waiting to attack.

The group took a fighting stance. "Shane, you call for zords, we'll keep these wannabes busy."

"You got it," Shane nodded before running off.

The Storm Megazord with a Turtle Mace and a Ram Hammer took care of the pig while Hunter and Blake used the butter slime to their advantage, defeating the Kelzaks. They turned to Kapri and Marah.

"Gotta go!"

"Late for a barbecue!" And with that, they took their victory.

-NS-

Tori was mopping the floor of Ninja Ops when Blake burst in. "Come on, Cinderella," he teased, grinning. The nickname made Tori smile a bit, even with her punishment. "Drop the mop. I got two more tickets to the film festival. Only this time, we won't invite the pig."

Sensei cleared his throat.

Blake stopped. He forgot his teacher was a guinea pig. "Oh, um, not you, Sensei."

Tori frowned. "I'd love to, but I can't," she apologized.

"Oh," Blake's grin disappeared. "Paying your debt to society, huh?"

Tori smiled. "I deserve it. I should've told you guys I already had plans."

Blake nodded. "Yeah, I would've understood. I mean, I'm not so good with dates myself."

An awkward pause swept over the two. Tori changed topics. "Look at that spot on the floor," she said. "I better go clean it." And with that, she left the navy ninja isolated.

He sighed. "What am I gonna do with these tickets now?" He looked at the guinea pig. It was better than nothing.

After it had gotten dark, Tori left and Dani came in from training. Cam went into the Ops area, surprised the ninja was still there. He frowned. "You're not overtraining yourself again, are you?" He asked.

Dani shrugged. "Maybe."

He invited her to sit down on the coffee table with him. "So what's on your mind?" He questioned as she took a huge sip out of a water bottle.

She sighed. She couldn't hide it from him forever, even though she was a bit unsure of how he felt about her. "Honestly?" Dani set down her water bottle, reached over and grabbed the boy's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "You."

Cam froze. This is not what he expected, but he didn't move his hand. His eyes moved to the ground, and all he could say was, "What about Hunter?"

Dani stood up, pulling him closer. "Cam, I had a little crush on him. I admit it. But if there's one person I can't stop thinking about even if I tried, if there's one person that I find attractive both inside and out," she left a soft kiss on his cheek. "It's you. Cam, it's always been you."

He looked up into her eyes, which were filled with nothing but sincerity. "Promise?" He lifted his free pinky to her.

She laughed. He knew that meant everything to her. And she was sure he did, too. She linked her pinky with his, and he pulled her even closer, closing the gap between them. The kiss was sweet, as all first kisses should be, and he wrapped his arms around her, not letting her go. They both had longed for this moment for months. They broke apart, both of their faces red and smiley. "Promise," she said at last.

He smiled. "As you wish."


	16. Samurai's Journey, Pt 1

_**A/N: It's a Friday, which means it's time for a new chapter! Hope you all enjoy! My spring break is coming up, which means more writing and maybe a**_ _ **one-shot or two! Have a blessed day, and as always, review review review!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I own Dani alone, nothing more, nothing less.**

Chapter 16: Samurai's Journey, Pt. 1

Six rangers stood in a circle around their teacher in Ninja Ops. Sensei was standing on a giant block of marble, getting ready to smash it with his bare hands, or paws. Blake rolled his eyes. "Right," he laughed.

"No way dude," Hunter scoffed. "There's no way he does it."

"I don't know dude," Dustin said. "He is pretty strong for a little guy."

"Yeah, you'd be surprised," Dani added, being he helped her train even in guinea pig form.

"Quiet," Shane snapped. "A little respect for the master."

Sensei looked up. "Now watch closely, rangers." He jumped up, putting force on the block by kicking it, chopping it in half.

The rangers stood with their jaws dropped, grinning and smiling down at the guinea pig. Shane grinned. "See that.."

"..was radical!" Blake finished, also beaming.

Tori smirked at Hunter. "You were saying?"

"I stand corrected," he admitted, "but how?"

"The power comes not from the body," Tori explained, "but from the mind."

Sensei smiled. "Correct, Tori."

Hunter breathed. "Alright. I'm up."

"Sure you want to go there, bro?" Blake asked.

"Look if he can do it," he started, then looking at the ninja master. "I'm gonna give it my best shot." He prepared, knelt, and struck the marble, not making a dent in it.

While five of the rangers took turns trying to cut the marble in half, Dani walked over by Cam and watched them make fools of themselves. He put an arm around the boy. "Whatcha thinkin?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Whenever you all are training, I'm invisible. But when there's a battle happening, I'm supposed to come into existence."

Dani pulled the boy closer. "I'm sorry, Cam," she apologized. "I know they tend to take you for granted, and sometimes I do, too." Her arm moved from his neck to his hand. "But know I'm super thankful for all you do, no matter when you do it."

He gave a weak smile. "I know. And I thank you for that." He stood up and kissed her forehead. "I just wish they could see."

As Blake smashed his head into the marble, Dustin laughed, and turned around to Dani. "Dan, you gonna try?"

Dani smirked, letting go of her boy and walking over. "That a challenge?"

"Yeah," Hunter called. "Just don't do what Blake did." This earned him a glare from from the Navy ranger, who was still clutching his head.

Dani walked over, knelt, and with ease, chopped a marble block in half. While everyone stood in awe, wondering how a younger female ninja could do that, she shrugged. "I've been training since I was ten," she explained, "and I have an original ranger as my older brother. Do the math."

Dustin, at last, tried his luck, with little success. Sensei summoned the ninjas towards his hut. "You have come far in your training," he told them proudly, "but you still have a long way to go."

"Yeah, but you're like a full-on super ninja Master," Dustin said, "and Dani's practiced for things like this."

Little did the rangers know, the boy in green walked up behind them, and chopped the marble block in half. Their jaws dropped even more, and Cam was stared at in shock by everyone except Dani, who smiled in admiration. "What?"

"Alright, how did you do that?" Shane asked. "You used some laser beam thing, right?"

"Or you switched the bricks," Dustin added. "I saw that in a stunt show once in a movie theme park." Cam got irritated. He chucked the marble block at the rangers. Dustin widened his eyes. "Okay, maybe not."

"It's gotta be a trick," Hunter kept going, earning a punch from Dani. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Cam snapped. "Just because someone isn't a ranger doesn't make them completely useless." He breathed. "I need some air." And with that, he walked out of Ops. Tori glared the boys down before following the geek out."

"You think he's mad at us?" Dustin wondered.

"Dude, he's ALWAYS mad at us," Shane retorted.

"What did we say?" Blake asked.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Oh, besides completely underestimating him and taking him for granted? Absolutely nothing." She ran out to where Tori and Cam had exited.

Sensei sighed. "I fear there is more to this than mere words, Blake."

-NS-

Tori found Cam skipping rocks on the small lake near the ruins of the academy. She smiled before approaching him. "You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah," Cam sighed. "Just tired of the lack of respect."

"Who says you don't get any respect?" The water ninja questioned. "Who says you don't get any respect? Cam, everything we're able to do is because of what you're able to do."  
"She's got a point, you know," Dani said, walking up to the other side of Cam. "What you're doing is more than we'd ever be able to do on our own. We wouldn't be here without you, Cam."

"It's not enough," Cam told the girls. "I want to be part of it."

Tori got it. "You want to be a ranger. Why don't you talk to Sensei?"

"I have," he replied. "He's forbidden me." Dani took his hand and squeezed it, knowing he wanted to be a ranger all along.

Tori frowned. "Forbidden you? Why?"

-NS-

Sensei explained to the other boys why Cam wasn't a ranger. "A promise you made when Cam was a little kid," Shane frowned. "That's why you won't let him become a ranger?"

"Does one of you have something you'd like to say?" Sensei asked in reply.

Dustin raised his hand. "I'm sorry, Sensei, but that's kind of weak."

The guinea pig nodded. "I appreciate your honesty, Dustin."

"Sensei," Shane continued, "You always taught us to make our own decisions, right?"

"Yes," Sensei agreed, "but as a parent, there are greater things to consider. It is far more complicated."

"It seems simple enough to me," Blake retorted. "You gotta trust your son, sir."

"Cam's the most together of all of us," Hunter added. "It seems to me, out of all people, he'd make a great ranger."

The master thought about this. "Perhaps I have been a little overprotective," he admitted. "Now, if you'll excuse me." The four boys bowed respectfully and left their Sensei in peace, looking at the picture of his late wife.

-NS-

Cam finished the story of the promise Sensei made to Cam's mother. Dani had heard this from him before, but she still listened to him intently along with Tori. When he finished, Tori spoke; "Cam, your father just wants what's best for you."

"I know that," he acknowledged.

"You have to tell him how you feel," Tori continued, "make sure he understands how important this is to you."

"She's right," Dani agreed. "You've never told him exactly why you want to be a ranger so badly. He needs to know that if he's going to put this promise over you."

"And besides," Tori added. "He's the most reasonable guinea pig I've ever met." This earned her a chuckle from the boy in green. "Go talk to him."

Cam nodded. "Okay. But if he doesn't listen, I'm not cleaning his cage for a month." The three laughed, he skipped another rock, squeezed Dani's hand, and went to go back to Ops.

Suddenly, Kelzaks, Marah, Kapri, and a new monster transported to them, making them turn into a fighting stance. "We hate to break up this greeting card moment.." Kapri smirked.

"But we're, like, here to destroy you," Marah finished before turning to her sister. "Evil enough for you?"

Kapri rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Attack!" She commanded.

Before they could, the other four rangers streaked to them. Dustin looked at the creature, who had building-like structures on his head. "I've heard of cities coming to life, but this is ridiculous!" He stated.

The monster scoffed. "Ha ha, everybody's a comedian. You gonna morph, or do I have to beg?"

Shane smirked. "You got it."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!"

"POWER OF EARTH!"

"POWER OF AIR!"

"POWER OF WATER!"

"POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

"POWER OF THUNDER!"

"Cam! Run!" Hunter shouted.

Cam refused. "No, I can help."

"Cam!" Dani shouted, before she and the other rangers were attacked by the new monster. Despite the alien holding a weird pot, he still managed to fight the rangers and send them to the ground. It didn't help that Marah and Kapri sent a blast to knock them completely off balance. Cam wasn't doing so hot either. His fight against the Kelzaks was a valiant effort, but in the end, he ended up on the ground, being surrounded by several Kelzaks with swords pointed at him.

The alien laughed. "Now for the drain event!" He opened his mysterious pot, which managed to drain the rangers of their powers completely, leaving them unmorphed. "Got em!" The monster yelled gleefully.

The girls giggled. "You guys are looking a little pale," Kapri smirked.

"You should try a little makeup," Marah added. "I've got these color charts that will totally match your skin tones!"

"Marah, zip it!" Kapri snapped.

"Pleasure doing business with you, power losers!" The monster quipped before transporting out, taking the Kelzaks and the girls with him.

Cam stood up immediately and ran over to his friends. "Are you guys okay?" He asked, concerned.

Dustin shook his head while Cam and Shane helped him up. "I feel like I just rode a 45 minute moto on a tricycle," he said.

The boy went over to help Dani. "How about you?"

The white ranger, however, couldn't even stand straight. "I feel super dizzy," she muttered, clinging to the geek.

Cam picked the girl up and nodded over to where the portal was. "We'd better get you back to ops," Cam told them, letting them follow him weakly back to Ninja Ops.

-NS-

Cam quickly lead them inside, lowering Dani onto the coffee table and picking up a thermosensor. From there, he scanned the rangers individually, even though they themselves could barely stand on their feet.

Shane breathed heavily. "Man, that guy worked us," he said as he was being scanned. "What happened out there?"

Cam sighed. "Madtropolis drained your ranger energy force," he explained. "If you go out and fight again, there's a good chance you won't come back."

Dustin shook his head. "Dude, that's harsh."

"This is grave news," Sensei agreed. "We must find a way to retrieve your powers."

Tori frowned. "Why is Dani in a worse shape than we are?" She asked weakly as the ninja in question lay now unconscious.

"Danielle has two elements to master," Sensei told them. "Therefore, she has had much more power drained from her."

"She gonna be okay?" Blake asked.

"If there's anything I know about Dani, she gets through anything," Hunter replied.

Tori looked toward the monitor. "Look, there he is," she pointed out, referring to Madtropolis.

Shane let out one last sigh. "Alright, it's go time," he said reluctantly.

Cam put his arm on the ninja. "You can barely stand, Shane."

"I'm not going to sit here while that freak is loose," Shane retorted.

"Me neither," Tori added.

Cam rolled his eyes at the stubborn rangers. "Alright. At least let me adjust your morphers to give you a temporary increase in energy, but it won't last. I'm keeping Dani here to monitor her levels." He typed a few things and pressed the center button, giving the rangers the power they needed for the moment. Hopefully, it'd be enough.

-NS-

In an abandoned factory in Blue Bay Harbor, Madtropolis was on his way to getting rid of the ranger powers for good. He laughed maniacally. "Now to blast these ranger powers out of existence!"

A blur of red, however, zoomed in front of him, and the pot of the ranger's powers was gone. Five rangers appeared behind him. "Sorry," Shane smirked. "But we're here to snuff out your plan."

"Hey, that's mine! I stole from you first!" He yelled, shooting a laser blast at them, causing the rangers to separate. Shane ran with the pot, and Madtropolis blasted another laser toward him. Shane shot his Hawk Blaster at him, but Madtropolis vanished and attacked him from behind.

" _Shane, come in!"_ Cam spoke into the communicator. " _You've got to conserve your energy."_

"Easier said than done," the red ranger retorted.

"Now give that back to me!" Madtropolis growled.

Shane got back on his feet. "I'm taking my ball and going home," he snapped back.

"That's what you think!" The alien told him, sucking him into an alternate dimension.

Shane looked around and frowned, seeing darkness all around. "Aw, man. I got a bad feeling about this!" All of a sudden, Madtropolis charged at him. He slashed him with a sword, only to reveal "him" to be the Thunder Rangers. "I thought I was fighting Madtropolis," Shane swore.

Blake nodded, having trouble getting up. "So did we."

"This place is totally crazy," Hunter warned. "Watch your back."

"I hear ya," Shane nodded.

"You're toast, Madtropolis!" Dustin yelled before he and Tori blasted at the three.

"Dustin! Tori! What are you doing?"

The two brighter colored rangers slashed their Ninja Swords at the three others. "You can't fool me," Tori said. "You're going down!"

"Tori, no!" Shane argued. "It's me, Shane!"

Dustin and Tori were fought until they fell, and they realized they had been fighting their friends. Dustin shook his head. "Tell me you saw that."

Tori frowned. "I saw it, but I don't know what I saw."

Madtropolis grinned. "What's the matter? Can't tell what's real and what's not?"

The rangers finally regrouped. "I've had enough of your mind games!" Shane yelled.

"Aw, you're no fun!" the monster replied. "I'm just getting started!"

Suddenly, Shane saw four images of Madtropolis. One slashed at him. "This has gotta be him," he thought before striking him. Turns out that image was Dustin. "Dustin!" He screamed. "I don't know what to do!"

Sensei's voice came over. " _Shane, listen to me carefully."_

"Sensei?!"

" _You must trust your heart,"_ Sensei continued. " _Your eyes may deceive you. Concentrate, and your inner ninja will tell you what is real and what is not."_

Shane nodded. "I'll try, Sensei." He closed his eyes, the several "Madtropolis" figures taunting him. His inner ninja lead to him shooting his Ninja Beam behind him at the real Madtropolis, bringing him and his friends back to the real world. After that, the monster disappeared.

All of the rangers winced in pain. "That was too weird," Dustin frowned.

"Tell me about it," Shane agreed.

"I can't take much more," Tori told the team.

"The power boost must be wearing off," Shane realized before falling himself, the rangers coming down with him.

"I'm crashing!" Hunter exclaimed.

"This is worse than an ice cream headache," Dustin added.

Tori rolled her eyes. "Thanks. Now I'm hungry on top of everything else."

Madtropolis came back, shooting lasers while the rangers were already down. "Now for the last time, give that back!"

Shane shook his head. "Let me get this straight." He pulled himself to his feet. "We're just supposed to hand this over with all our powers in it? That's never gonna happen. C'mon guys!"

"Wait, can we still make the cannon without Dani?" Tori asked.

" _Yes you can,"_ Cam came in. " _I made some adjustments so you could do so."_

"All right! Let's do it!" Shane commanded, and the rangers combined their weapons. Madtropolis multiplied himself, but the Thunderstorm Cannon took all of them down.

However, Madtropolis grew. "I'm scraping the skies!" He laughed. "End of the road, rangers!"

"Ready, Shane?" Dustin looked to his leader.

The red ranger nodded. "Right. Let's do it." He tried to slash open the ball, but nothing happened. "I can't open it," he stated.

Hunter stopped them. "We don't have time to figure it out," he said. "We gotta stop him!"

-NS-

Back at Ops, the monitor beeped. " _Cam, we need the megazords!"_ Shane's voice rang.

Cam moved back to the monitor. "You'll never last through a megazord fight," he said, now worried about the other rangers as well as his unconscious girl.

" _Look, we don't have a choice."_

"Alright," Cam relented. "Do what you have to, but we've gotta get that sphere back to Ninja Ops. I've been working on a new teleportation system." He sighed and pressed a button on his keyboard. "I hope it's ready. Also, you'll be able to form the megazord without Dani as well."

Cam watched as the rangers hopped into their zords, forming the Storm and Thunder Megazords. However, within minutes, Madtropolis trashed the megazords, sending the rangers out of them onto the ground. They lay there in pain, wincing and groaning. " _Now say goodbye, rangers!_ " Madtropolis yelled.

Cam fidgeted with the keyboard in frustration, not wanting what he thought was going to happen. "They're out of energy. Isn't there anything we can do?" He asked his father desperately.

Sensei thought. "In the past, there was a power mighty enough to help us, but there is no sense in longing for what has long since been destroyed. "

Cam frowned, taking off his glasses. "This is no time for riddles, Dad. You know something, what is it?"

Dani's eyes fluttered open. She stood up shakily, looking around Ops. "Cam?"

Cam rushed to her side. "Hey, take it easy," he soothed.

Dani shook her head. "I'll be okay. It's been worse. What did I miss?"

"The rangers are about to be pummeled by Madtropolis," Cam explained.

"What can we do?" Dani breathed, not believing what she was hearing.

Cam looked over to the ninja master. "Dad, if there is a way, you have to tell me.'

"It is useless to discuss," Sensei stated. "We cannot safely predict how the portal will respond to-"

"What?" Dani asked.

"The scroll of time!" Cam realized, running over to the scrolls. "Of course!"

Sensei landed in front of him. "No. You must not disturb that which is the natural progression of time."

"If I don't do something, there won't be any time left," Cam retorted. "You know I have to do this. I have to go back in time and get the one power source that will help us."

Sensei sighed. "To confront one's past is an awesome responsibility. It risks changing everything you know about the present."

"I have to take that chance," Cam told his dad.

"Cam can do this," Dani added. "He's the best person I know for the job."

Sensei finally relented, stepping aside for Cam to get the scroll. "Thanks, dad." He opened the scroll, opening a portal.

"Are you certain this is the only way?" Sensei begged his son. "Our time here will be frozen until the writing on the scroll fades away."

"I can't think of anything more desperate than this," Cam confirmed. "Can you?"

"No, I cannot."

"And I can't think of any power source but one that can save us." Cam added. He turned to Dani. "Can you?"

She shook her head, enveloping the boy into a hug. "Come back to me," she ordered.

He gave Dani one long, passionate kiss before letting her go. "I will."

"Cam, you must hurry," Sensei warned, "or you will be trapped in the past forever."

"I know," Cam nodded, looking to Dani.

"Don't let it come to that," Dani begged.

"I won't," he assured her.

Sensei smiled at his son. "You have your mother's courageous heart and your father's stubborn head. Be careful, my son."

Cam looked to the people he loved. "I'll be back. I promise." And with that, he stepped through. When he landed, he was face down on the ground in front of the waterfall at the academy. He frowned. "Did it work?" He asked himself. "This place looks exactly the same." Next thing he knew, Cam was sitting in front of a masked ninja on a horse. And he did not seem friendly.


	17. Samurai's Journey, Pt 2

_**A/N: Hey all! Thought I'd give a shoutout to all who have followed the story thus far, because I wouldn't be doing this without you all. So without further ado, thanks to:**_

 ** _Alex B. Goode_**

 ** _Amis55_**

 ** _FireRoseWarrior_**

 ** _Gissnow_**

 ** _Helena Bellamuerte_**

 ** _Kiara 0922_**

 ** _Loritina_**

 ** _Redder45_**

 ** _SPB Wolf_**

 ** _SailorSedena052_**

 ** _TheFlashFanatic13_**

 ** _ariannacamberos1008_**

 ** _ctran03931_**

 ** _kittyitty6_**

 ** _radarjackson12_**

 ** _readingLover2018_**

 ** _thunderyoshi_**

 ** _zackpierce4_**

 ** _You all are the best. Thank you for following this story, which has been super fun to right. And now, since it's Friday, here's chapter 17! Hope you enjoy it! And as always, review review review!_**

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _-Paige_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Power Rangers. I own a pencil. Oh. and Dani.**

Chapter 17: Samurai's Journey, Pt. 2

Cam looked up at the horse's rider, afraid. The rider emerged off of the horse onto his feet, taking a defensive position. "The password," he spoke. "Tell me the password or perish where you stand."

"Air, water, and earth as one," Cam replied calmly.

"Sorry," the ninja smirked. "Wrong answer." He attacked Cam, grabbing him and pushing him to the ground.

"Look, trust me," Cam breathed heavily. "Someday, that will be the password." He grabbed the ninja's wrist and threw him backward. He got up, took hold of the ninja's wrist again, shoved him around and flipped him over onto the ground.

The air ninja got up, confused. "Only students here are taught that move. Where did you learn it?"

Cam smiled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," the ninja snapped, charging toward the boy again.

Before he could, a man dressed in robes stepped out of the portal and in front of the two young men. He was African American that had a look of sternness but kindness at the same time- the look of a master. "That's enough, Kanoi," the man soothed the ninja.

Cam frowned. "Kanoi?"

Kanoi revealed his face to be in the one Cam looked at along with his infant self and his mother. He was a man with dark hair and eyes to match. "Sensei, I caught this intruder," he said. "He knows our ways, our techniques."

"Give him a test uniform," the sensei told the student, "and have him join the new students. We'll soon know if he's meant to be here."

"Test uniform?" Cam asked. "You still have-"

"Until we can decide whether you belong to air, earth, or water, you'll wear no color," the teacher explained. He then turned to the current student. "And kanoi, don't be late for class again. I'm beginning to question your commitment to your ninja training." With that, he entered back through the portal.

Cam could barely hold his laughter. His dad was as bad as his current students? "Sounds like someone's in the ninja dog house."

"Don't push your luck," Kanoi retorted. "And stop staring at me."

Cam shook his head. Whoops. "Sorry. You remind me of someone."

"Follow me," the air ninja commanded as he also walked through the portal.

Cam could barely contain a grin. "I'm coming... father." He looked at his scroll. The writing had already been disappearing dramatically. He had to hurry.

-NS-

The five rangers, back in the present, stood still in time. Madtropolis had come close to destroying them, his fingers lunging for them. Dani and Sensei, however, sat in Ninja Ops. Sensei moved towards the monitor. "I must transport them back to Ninja Ops," he stated, "where our force field can protect them."

He reached for the keyboard, but Dani intervened. "Allow me, Sensei." She hit a few buttons, summoning them off of the field and back to Ops. Once they realized they were back, they crashed both on the floor and the coffee table.

Dustin sighed. "Oh man, what's the deal?"

"I feel so weak," Hunter agreed.

"You're telling me," Dani said. "At least you got a power boost."

"Save your energy, rangers," Sensei told them. "Danielle has engaged Cam's teleportation system to bring you to safety for now."

"Glad you're awake, Dani," Hunter smiled.

Dani nodded. "Me, too."

"How come she gets to touch the monitor?" Shane wondered.

"I actually have learned how to use it," Dani stated matter-of-factly. "Cam taught me in case something happened to him."

"Glad he did," Blake gave a grateful smile, which made Dani smile more.

"Where is Cam though?" Tori asked, not seeing the boy in green.

Sensei thought of his son back in time. "He has embarked upon a journey that could very well determine the fate of the world as we know it."

-NS-

In front of the Ninja School, the students stood in front of their sensei in attention. Cam wore a gray test uniform along with the other new recruits in front of the sorted ninjas in black uniforms. "Students, at ease," the master ordered. They stood at ease. "In the tradition of the wind ninja academy, we must welcome our new students with a demonstration. Our best fighter Kanoi will demonstrate the sword techniques of the wind ninja.

Kanoi moved from a kneeling position to standing with his wooden sword. He practiced several moves with it, causing Cam to be amazed at how astounding of a ninja his father was in school. However, an earth ninja was not so impressed. He leaned over to Cam. "Kanoi talks tough," he said, "but he can be beaten. I should know."

He looked at the earth ninja, then to Kanoi, then back to the earth ninja. They shared a striking resemblance. But his father never spoke of a brother. "You two, you're-"

"Twins," the stranger finished. "I'm Kiya. Lucky for me, I got all the personality in the family. Kanoi just got the good looks."

"I can't believe Dad never told me," Cam muttered.

Kiya frowned. "What was that?"

Cam shook his head. "Nothing. It's been a really weird day." Kanoi finished his demonstration, smashing a wooden post.

"For the next part of our demonstration," the sensei continued, "we'll need a volunteer." He walked past the students, past Cam to a masked student in a test uniform. The student bowed, taking the weapon from him.

Kanoi smirked. "But Sensei, this a new student. The fight is unfair."

As the newbie walked on the stage, the teacher smiled. "We shall may begin." Kanoi and his opponent bowed to each other, and the fight began. They stood and walked around the stage until Kanoi charged and took a swipe at the newcomer, who dodged it and many of the air ninja's other attacks. The new student put the sword back into its sheath, which intrigued Kanoi enough to attack. However the newcomer knocked Kanoi back into the crowd with the sword Sensei gave.

Cam wowed at the student. "The only time I've seen sword technique like that was from a-"

"Samurai," Kiya finished, smirkingly smiling at the newbie.

Kanoi was not finished, however. He flew to attack the student, but the student's sword met his own, and the newcomer knocked the air ninja down from his feet.

The sensei intervened as Kanoi was being pinned to the ground. "Excellent, Miko," he smiled, causing the student to stand back.

Kanoi frowned as he got up. "Miko? That's the name of a girl."

The student took of the mask to reveal long, flowing black hair and kind face. Cam's eyes widened. "Mom?"

Kanoi's eyes also widened. "He's a she," he started. "I mean, she's a girl."

"That seems fairly obvious," the sensei retorted. "Kanoi, meet your victor. Miko." Miko bowed respectfully to the air ninja.

Kanoi was confused. "But her sword work- it's not the wind ninja way."

"Very observant," Miko finally spoke. "I was trained as a samurai by my father."

"Sensei, this school's bound by tradition," Kanoi argued. "There are no women allowed here."

"Why, are you afraid of a girl?" his brother smirked. "Maybe our traditions need to be changed."

"Oh, you like breaking the rules, don't you, brother?" Kanoi snapped. "I know what you get up to in your free time."

"Watch what you say, brother," Kiya warned. "One shouldn't make accusations without proof to back them up."

"Enough," the sensei said firmly. "This student has displayed impressive skills and will be allowed to enroll here as the first female in the school's history." With that, Kanoi stormed away, shoving Kiya as he went.

"Thank you, Sensei," Miko replied kindly. She bowed to her new classmates, revealing a green charm hanging from her neck. Cam and Kiya looked at it and at each other suspiciously. She realized her necklace was showing, so she stuck it back into her test uniform. However, Cam noticed its glow, and thought that is what he was looking for.

-NS-

Later, Miko was training in the woods, practicing her samurai moves. She realized someone was behind her, and pointed her sword at the approacher. That was Kiya.

"Please, don't stop," Kiya smiled, looking at her neck. "The pendant- it's beautiful. May I?"

He stepped forward, but Miko put her hand over the pendant. "I'm sorry," she snapped. "It's a family heirloom. You understand."

"Of course," Kiya replied, walking back. Miko clenched her fist around the pendant tighter. Suddenly, Kiya's eyes turned pitch black. "Tell me about it. Let me see that amulet." Miko loosened her grasp unknowingly, and Kiya reached for the necklace.

Cam approached. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked suspiciously before turning to his mother. "I'm sorry. Miko, I want to talk to you about your samurai technique."

Miko nodded nervously, tucking her amulet back into her uniform. "Of course."

"I must go," Kiya said. "We'll talk later." He left, glaring at the samurai as he went.

The two walked along the pathways of the school. "How did you learn those moves?" Cam asked.

"The samurai spirit has been passed down to my family for generations," she explained.

"Along with the amulet?" Cam added.

"Yes," Miko nodded. "It was given to me by my father." She looked to the boy. "Tell me about your family."

"Well, my father's my sensei," he told her. "My mother died when I was young."

Miko frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

He smiled. "She was a great warrior. My father says she would never approve of the life I've chosen- of me doing what I'm doing."

Miko stopped to look at him. "I've a feeling if she could see you now, she might feel differently." She gave him a smile and walked into her tent.

Cam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Thanks, mom." His scroll started to make noise in his pocket. He looked at it, and it started glowing in bright gold. "Alright, I get it. The letters are stronger when I'm near the amulet. What am I supposed to do about it?"

-NS-

Miko laid her amulet out on some cloth, bowed respectfully, and went over to meditate. What she didn't notice was a man in a test uniform snuck in, grabbed the amulet, and tried to sneak out. However, he tripped on his way out. Mika frowned. "Cam?" She noticed the necklace in his hand. "Stop! That's mine!"

He ran, she chased him. This pattern continued for almost a mile, but the thief disappeared. In the distance, Cam was walking through the woods when he got attacked by Miko. "Where is it?" She demanded. "Why did you take it?"

Cam was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Just give it back, and I'll make sure the punishment is merciful."

Kanoi and several ninjas approached. "As captain of the academy guard, I must place you under arrest," he stated, sending ninjas to take hold of Cam.

"What?" Cam cried. "What's going on?" Before he was answered, he was taken away from them, Miko following. However, Kanoi noticed a green light in the distance. "What's that?"

-NS-

Cam was presented in front of the sensei and the assembly of ninjas at the school. They beat a drum, left Cam there alone, and the sensei went to speak to him. "You stand accused of stealing from a fellow student," he said. "We've heard from several eyewitnesses who saw you commit this crime. Do you have anything to say?"

Cam looked to Miko, whose eyes showed hurt and betrayal. "Miko, I would never do this to you," he swore, looking into the disappointed eyes of his mother. She wasn't buying it.

"The law of the Wind Ninja Academy does not waver on this issue," the sensei stated. "Those guilty of breaking the ninja code must be banished. The evidence seems irrefutable. I will now pass judgement on the accused."

-NS-

Back in the present, the rangers besides Dani were confused on where Cam went. "Cam has gone back in time to get help," Sensei explained. "But if he has not returned before time resumes, I fear there will be nothing to prevent Madtropolis from destroying our planet."

Dani looked at her camera. She scrolled through several photos she had forced Cam to take with her, hoping she'd see him again. Losing her brother was hard enough. She couldn't stand to lose him, too. She remembered when he left.

" _Come back to me," Dani begged._

" _I won't, Cam assured her. "I'll be back. I promise."_

Cam always kept his promises, Dani remembered.

"Come on, Cam," Tori pleaded, looking up. "We need you."

-NS-

The sensei stood before the crowd of ninjas and in front of Cam. The drum started to beat again. "My judgment is that I find you-"

"Not guilty," Kanoi interrupted, with him the masked man. Kanoi unmasked him, revealing him to be an earth ninja.

"Kiya?" Miko frowned.

Kanoi walked his brother up the aisle, pushing him against the stage. "Now tell the truth!"

"I'm the one who took the amulet," Kiya admitted.

"I caught him in the woods," Kanoi explained, "trying to use the dark ninja powers to unlock the amulet." He now clenched the amulet in his hands.

"You always did know how to spoil a party, didn't you, brother?" Kiya smirked.

"Any use of the dark powers will bring immediate expulsion," the sensei looked down at the ninja. "This is the first rule of the wind ninja academy. Have you anything to say, Kiya?"

"Not really," Kiya retorted. "I'm more a man of action." With his powers, he thrusted all ninjas off the stage and out of the crowd. He finally shoved his brother down,sending the amulet into the air. When Miko tried to grab it, she was also brought to the ground. However, Cam grabbed the amulet before Kiya could.

Kiya walked up to Cam while Kanoi shouted, "Stop him!"

"This is between me and the new kid," Kanoi yelled before surrounding him and Cam in a force field. "Pity," he turned to Cam. "Things were going so well until you showed up."

Cam put the necklace on himself so he could fight. "Sorry to spoil your fun!"

"You want to make it up to me," Kiya snapped. "Hand over the amulet!" They both picked up wooden swords.

"I can't do that," Cam replied.

"Well then. I'll have to take it from you!" Kiya shouted.

With that, Cam attacked the rogue ninja, the two parrying the other's attacks well. Their swords crossed, the two pushing against each other. "You're a stubborn one!" Kiya told him.

"It runs in the family!" Cam spat. Kiya tried to grab the amulet from Cam, but his "nephew" blocked him.

"Give me that amulet, or you'll regret ever crossing my path!" Kiya threatened.

"Like I already don't," Cam retorted. He went for another attack, but Kiya used the dark ninja powers to throw Cam to the ground. However, the geek was relentless, and after getting up and fighting several times, he landed back on the ground, struggling to get up.

Kiya smirked. "You put up quite a fight, but now prepare to meet your fate!" He picked up Cam by the shirt and shoved him, standing over him to destroy him. However, Cam blocked Kiya's attack again, pushing against him. Suddenly, the amulet glowed, and its power surrounded the rogue ninja. It threw him up, revealed his true state, and undid the force field. He fell with a large thud.

Miko and Kanoi walked up to him while several ninjas bound Kiya. "Are you okay?" Miko asked.

"Yeah," Cam assured them. "What just happened?"

Miko smiled. "The samurai amulet has found its rightful owner."

Cam frowned. "But this is yours. I can't take this."

"You must," she insisted. "That's why you came here, isn't it?"

Cam's eyes widened. His mother was smarter than he had realized. Meanwhile, Kiya was having a fit. "You think you can stop me from harnessing the darkest powers in the universe?" He grinned evilly. "I will rule this world and all others within my reach."

The sensei stepped in front of Cam towards Kiya. "You've brought this fate upon yourself," he told the dark ninja, pointing at him. "You will be cast adrift in the universe where your dark ninja powers may cause no harm. You are hereby stripped of your ninja rank, and the man known as Kiya will no longer exist!"

The man rolled his eyes. "I have no use for your archaic ways or worthless name. From now on, I will take the name of the ancient warrior of evil. From this point forth, I will be known as Lothor!"

Cam's eyes got big. "No!" He lunged forward, but the sensei stopped him. He threw a ball of energy at Lothor, closing him in.

"I will not forget the part you played in this, brother!" He yelled at Kanoi. "I will have my revenge!"

"Be gone, Lothor," the sensei spat, casting him out into space.

"He has to be destroyed!" Cam cried. "What if he comes back?"

"We can only judge someone by their actions in the present," the sensei replied, "not by a future we cannot see."

"Please, trust me on this," Cam begged. "We have to destroy him now!" However, the scroll shook in his pocket. "I'm out of time," he sighed, and the portal to the present opened.

Miko walked behind him. "Use the amulet."

"Wait, how will I know-?" He looked to her. "There's so much I want to ask you, so much I want to tell you, someone I want you to meet!"

Miko smiled as he walked into the portal. "Goodbye, Cam. Good luck."

-NS-

Back at Ops, the five that were in battle started to fade. Tori frowned. "Sensei, what's happening?"

"Time is resuming its true course," he explained. "You will be returned to where you were the moment time stopped."

As they faded, Dani added, "Good luck guys." She turned to the monitor. She hadn't used her boost yet. "Sensei, I'm going in," she stated, pressing a few keys and boosting herself.

"Cam will be there," the guinea pig assured her.

She nodded. "That's what I'm counting on."

Sensei sighed. "Be careful."

"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! POWER OF THE HURRICANE!"

Dani entered her Swan Zord and shot a laser at the monster. "Hey city boy!" She screamed. "You want some of this?" She used her Zord's hurricane attack, however, he knocked her zord over before she could hit him. "Okay, plan B."

Suddenly, a sound of an engine whining drew closer and closer. "What's that noise?" Shane wondered.

Tori looked behind him. "Look!" She pointed to a flying plane-like zord in the air.

Dani looked up. "Is that-?"

A green power ranger stepped onto the deck of his zord. "Hello power rangers!" He spoke into his microphone. "Looks like you could use a little help! Green Samurai Ranger, at your service!"

Madtropolis looked over to the new zord. "Hey!" He yelled. "Who are you?"

"I'm the ranger who's going to bring you down!" the new ranger responded. He fired several lasers at Madtropolis, making sure to avoid Dani in the process. He turned his zord into the Samurai Star Megazord, destroying Madtropolis once and for all.

Dani exited her zord and powered down, sending the Swan back home. "You guys alright?" She asked.

Shane nodded. "Fine, now!"

The green ranger also emerged from his zord, standing before them.

"Is it just me, or is there a guy in green ranger gear over there?" Dustin asked.

"No dude," Shane shook his head. "I see it, too."

"You're not seeing things," Dani beamed, pretty sure she who the ranger was.

"You guys never said anything about a green one," Blake said.

"Yeah, way to hold out on us," Hunter smirked.

Shane looked at him. "Hey, it's news to us, too."

Dustin ignored Dani's previous comment. "Maybe we're all hallucinating," he thought.

"You're not hallucinating, Dustin," the green ranger spoke finally.

Dustin frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"Why wouldn't I know your name?" The new ranger powered down, revealing it was Cam. Though Dani's boost was wearing off, she made herself run and jump into the green ranger's arms, hugging him tight. He gave her a sweet kiss and smiled. "Told you I'd be back."


	18. Samurai's Journey, Pt 3

_**A/N: Hey friends. It's technically Saturday where I am, so I'm sorry it's so late. I have had a crazy week of stress, exams, and not fun things, so I had no chance to write. However, I had this one written up already, so you still get this week's story. Yaaaay.**_

 _ **That being said, I think I need a week or two to destress myself, because I have slowly realized I'm putting more weight on myself than I can carry. So being it's my spring break now, I'm going to take a week or two away from this story. If it's more than that, PLEASE DM me. I need to not quit on this.**_

 _ **So I'm sorry for making you wait, but I'll be back. Never fear!**_

 _ **Thank you all for being so supportive of this story and of me. You all are beautiful humans and rangers. As always, reviewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (thought I'd change it up).**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **-Paige**_

 **DISCLAIMER: Do I own anything in this besides Dani? No. Do I wish I did? Yes...**

Chapter 18: Samurai's Journey, Pt. 3

After a nice reunion, Cam finally put his girl down. Before he answered any questions from the others, he looked at them. "Look, right now we have to get you back to Ninja Ops. Come on." He looked back to Dustin. "Come on!"

Dustin stood there and shook his head. "No, I think I'll just wait here for a cab or a bus. I'm worked."

"Dustin, there's no cabs or buses in a grass clearing!" Dani shouted before she went on.

"There is that," Dustin frowned.

A voice spoke from up above. "Run fool!" Lothor laughed.

"Right behind you, Cam!" Dustin nodded before sprinting away from Lothor's lasers.

They ran towards a river, linked up with each other. "Obviously, he didn't get enough love as a child," Blake muttered.

"Oh rangers!" Marah and Kapri beamed from their side.

Lothor, Marah and Kapri tried to shoot at them 'til they were destroyed until they were surrounded by Kelzaks and the evil ninjas.

"What's the matter, nephew?" Lothor smirked. "Don't like reunions?"

Dustin froze. "Did he say 'nephew?'"

Cam ignored his comment. "You can't choose your family, Lothor. And I certainly didn't choose you!"

"Pity," Lothor replied. "There's always a place for someone like you in my evil empire."

Cam shook his head. "You must be joking."

"We'll see who has the last laugh, Samurai Ranger!" Lothor yelled as he and his minions prepared to attack. However, Sensei transported them back to Ops just in time, on the ground.

"Do you want to give us some warning next time you're gonna do something like that?" Hunter groaned.

"Give us a chance to work on our landings?" Tori added.

Sensei nodded. "Your appreciation is noted."

"Sorry Sensei," Shane apologized. "It's just, if we had our powers, I know we could've taken him."

"Then perhaps it is time you got them back," Sensei told them. "The sphere holds the power of six rangers. Only a greater power can open it."

Dustin thought. "Well, how about seven rangers?" Dustin asked.

Cam looked to the yellow ranger. "I think Dustin's right."

Dustin grinned. "Thanks." He wasn't told that often, and it was nice of Cam to not criticize his intelligence for once.

"Better do it quick," Dani muttered. "The room is spinning again."

The seven power rangers put their hands on the sphere, and they were knocked to the ground. However, this time, they had regained their powers. They cheered and tested out their working powers once more. Tori looked to the newest addition of the team. "Just one question though, Cam. What- How did all this happen? I mean, suddenly, you're a ranger?"

The five rangers asked question after question to Cam while Dani walked hand in hand with him to the monitor.

After they were satisfied about Cam's ranger backstory, Shane brought up another part that Cam discovered. "Dude, let's talk about Uncle Lothor. Man, that's crazy, bro!"

Cam rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. Nice family tree I have."

The guinea pig looked to his son. "Cam, Lothor is no relation of ours."

Cam frowned. "How can you say that?"

"By law, once a ninja is banished, they cease to exist," Sensei explained. "The one I knew as my brother is a mere memory."

"But don't you think I had a right to know?" Cam retorted.

"Yeah, we all did," Hunter agreed.

"Perhaps," Sensei thought. "But what would it have changed? Would you have battled him any differently?" Cam realized his father was right and finally relented.

"Speaking of battling.." Tori said as the monitor beeped. Five different monsters appeared on the screen in different areas.

"Whoa, dude," Shane shouted. "They're all over the place!"

"Split up," Sensei ordered. "Rangers, go! Cam, you will remain here to monitor for additional attacks. Dani, you will also remain here. We must make sure you are back to full health." Cam and Dani nodded. Shane put a hand on their shoulders. "See you out there," Shane grinned.

"Green always did look good on you," Tori added, smiling at Cam.

"Yeah, it did," Dani beamed, pecking Cam on the cheek, walking to the guest room to lie down.

Sensei looked at the new green ranger proudly. "I see the Samurai Amulet has finally found its home," he said. "It is an honor not to be taken lightly, my son."

"I know," the new ranger assured his father. He thought back to his adventure through time with his young father, uncle, and mother. He smiled sadly. "She was so beautiful and brave and kind. Everything you said."

"Do not forget wise," Sensei told him, "for she has chosen well in bringing forth the newest power ranger."

Cam smiled, feeling relieved that his father was proud of him. He watched as Shane went and attacked a Tiki looking monster, Blake went to fight a tentacled menace, Dustin tackled a blue alien, Tori faced a yellow rat, and Hunter went to take down a gray creep. Later on, a sixth, bug-like creature appeared in another part of the town. When the monitor beeped, Dani walked in to see it. She frowned. "Gross."

Cam looked at the ugly creature. "That one's got my name all over it," he stated. He stopped. "Dad?"

"Go, Cam," Sensei replied.

"You sure?"

"You have chosen your own destiny," the guinea pig affirmed. "Your mother would be proud."

"I'll watch things here until I'm needed," Dani told him before kissing him once more. "Good luck."

He grinned, going to morph.

"SAMURAI STORM! RANGER FORM! HA! GREEN SAMURAI POWER!"

Cam went to the plaza where the bug had been spotted, but the plaza was empty. "You can't hide forever!" He shouted. However, the bug had shrunk itself, flown to the neck of the green ranger's suit where it could penetrate into the skin, and left a nasty sting. Cam fell to his knees only to be picked up and surrounded by Kelzaks.

The monster grew and grinned. "You've just begun to feel my sting!" He crept closer to the new ranger. "Hold still! This won't hurt a bit!" The bug used its mouth to go to the same place, inserting toxin into Cam.

"Ouch," Cam whimpered. "Didn't your mother ever teach you about biting?"

"Of course!" The bug exclaimed. "She'd be so proud!" As it went in again, Cam managed to kick the alien's legs from underneath him and free himself from the Kelzaks.

"That's enough!" Cam said.

"No it isn't," the bug argued.

Cam shook his head. "Okay." He proceeded to slice into several Kelzaks, bringing them down, then once at his main opponent. However, the bug flew off. "Good riddance," Cam said, still hurting.

-NS-

On the plus side, the other five rangers in battle took care of their monsters with much ease. Or so they thought. After their "defeat," the five aliens came back. "No way!" Dustin exclaimed. "I blew up the dude, and then he.. un-blew up!"

Before they could fight anymore, Dani contacted them. " _Guys, get back to Ops as soon as possible,"_ she commanded. " _Sensei wants to regroup."_

Dustin backed off. "Later!" He finished before going back to his team.

Dani was still at ops when the six rangers returned. Cam had gotten back first, walking in slowly. Dani went to hug him, but when he powered down, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing several red marks on his body from where the bug had inserted toxin. Dani frowned. "How in the world, Cam?"

The other five rangers slowly filed in and saw Cam with the bites on his body. Hunter looked in disgust. "Oh that's nasty, dude! What happened?"

Cam winced."I got a little close to that overgrown sucker."

"Ew," the rangers said in unison.

Sensei sat and looked at the monitor, which had beeped. "Starvark has grown," he informed the rangers.

Shane nodded. "We'll get the zords."

The guinea pig looked to Dani. "Danielle, are you ready to fight in a zord battle?"

She stood and nodded. "I'm back at 100%. I'm ready."

Sensei turned to the brothers. "Thunder Rangers, can you handle the others?" He asked, referring to the four other monsters lurking about.

Hunter smirked. "With pleasure."

Cam looked to his father. "What about me?" He scratched at his shoulder, not realizing hair was growing largely from his knuckles.

"Uh, Cam.." Tori cringed. "What's that?"

He looked down and sighed. "I have no idea."

"Rangers, go," Sensei ordered. "I will investigate Cam's condition."

"Right." The six took off, leaving Cam to groan in agony.

-NS-

The Wind Rangers hopped into their individual zords, forming the Storm Megazord to fight Starvark. He smirked as the megazord approached him. "I still have a trick or two that will do!" He surrounded the rangers with fire, damaging the zords.

"He's crashing our systems!" Shane cried.

"Power levels dropping!" Tori frowned.

"Defenses are weakening, too!" Dani added.

Back at Ninja ops, Cam was twitching while listening to the rangers over the comms. " _Try this,_ " he said. A moment later, a power disk appeared by Dustin and Tori.

"Thanks, Cam!" the earth ninja said, locking and dropping his disk for the Ram Hammer. "Hey Tori, how about a combo?"

"Good call," Tori nodded, locking and dropping her disk for the Turtle Mace. The two weapons combined, and soon, Starvark came down to the ground.

-NS-

On the beach, Hunter and Blake attacked the squid monster. However, one of its tentacles wrapped around the navy ranger, flipping him over twice. "Let me go, you creep!" He growled. Luckily, Hunter struck the tentacle that was entrapping his brother and swung it around the monster it belonged to. "Thanks bro!" Blake told his brother.

Hunter nodded. "You got it!"

The squid frowned. "I'm stuck!" The two brothers continued to strike the monster with their Thunder Staffs, hoping it would go down soon.

-NS-

Back at ops, a twitchy, buggy Cam looked at the monitor. Another monster had grown in another part of town. "Uh-oh. Guys, the big mustache is back, only this time, he's really really big."

" _On it!"_ Shane replied through the comm system. The rangers easily fought him, shooting him down with the Lion Laser.

Sensei looked at his son. "It is as I expected," he explained. "You have been injected with a toxin causing you to exhibit insect-like qualities."

Cam ignored this and contacted the Thunders. "Hunter, Blake. You okay?"

" _Oh yeah,"_ They affirmed as Cam watched them strike the monster some more until the monster was no more. However, the fighting didn't end there.

"Hunter! Blake!" Cam called them. "We've got two more at the library."

" _Right, let's go!"_ Blake nodded, and the two made their way over.

Sensei continued to talk to Cam. "The alien himself must extract the toxin from your body."

Cam got up and walked around, twitching as wings grew from his backside. "You're telling me I have to get him to reverse what he did to me in the first place?"

"That is correct."

"Oh, that should be easy," Cam snapped. "I can't believe that in my first ranger battle, I practically get turned into a bug."

"It is your green ranger powers that have protected you from a worse fate," Sensei added. "Every new challenge brings setbacks. The strong will learn from them and grow stronger."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Is that your way of saying "don't give up"?

"Exactly," Sensei smiled. "I know this will not be your last mission as a ranger."

Cam sighed, but knew his father was smart. "Thanks, dad." With that, he twitched out the door, powered up, and headed downtown. His ranger powers helped with the bug-like qualities. When he got there, he looked around. "Come out and show yourself!"

The bug snickered from a plant before growing. "Over here! Feeling sick? You're looking a little green."

"I'm only sick of you!" Cam retorted.

"Only a matter of time until you're just like me!" The alien taunted.

"Not in this life time, sucker!" The samurai took of his vest and turned his helmet around, activating his Super Samurai mode. He punched, kicked, and sliced, knocking the monster to the ground. He brought the bug's toxic "stinger" close to his chest. "Come here, sucker."

"What are you doing?" The bug exclaimed.

"Giving you back your bug juice!" Cam sneered. After the toxin was out of his body, he pushed the alien down. "Now bug off!" Knowing Lothor was watching, he pointed his saber to the sky. "How do you like that, Uncle?"

However, after he said that, the pest grew. "I'm going for the big one!" It squealed, heading to attack the Storm Megazord. It flew until it started sucking energy from the megazord until it punched the bug back.

Tori frowned. "Energy levels are critical!"

"I really hate bugs," Dani cringed.

"What do you think, Cam?" Shane asked to the ranger below.

"I've got an idea. Prepare to download!" he pressed a few buttons on the saber, sending a power disk the rangers' way.

"Got it!" Dustin nodded. "Time to pound this pest!" He locked and dropped the disk, revealing the ram hammer. The rangers attacked, but the bug easily deflected the hammer.

"He's using our energy against us!" Tori cried. The bug then tackled the megazord, sending it to the ground.

"All systems in the red," Shane stated.

Tori shook her head. "This is not looking good!"

"My controls are jammed!" Dustin cried.

"Power levels are dangerously low!" Dani added.

"Say goodbye, rangers!" The alien snickered. But before he got a chance to destroy them, Cam fired lasers from the Samurai Star.

"Hang on guys!" Cam called, giving the Winds a chance to stand. "Hey Tori, mind if I take your spot?"

Tori frowned. "Huh?"

"I've got a new configuration!" Cam explained.

Tori nodded. "Okay." The Dolphin zord emerged from the Storm Megazord, while Cam's Samurai Star Zord took its place, the Swan arm guards moving accordingly.

The bug rolled its eyes. "I'm through toying with you!"

"Then let's end this game," Cam decided. Cam's attachment sent giant bursts of air towards the bug, annihilating it. Meanwhile, the Thunders used their Cannon against the two monsters they were fighting, and they were destroyed, too.

-NS-

Cam walked into Ninja Ops later that day after the battle, happy he wasn't part bug anymore. "Hey guys!" He called as he ran in. "I linked my Samurai Saber directly to the Ninja Ops mainframe, so I should be able to continue my strategic duties even in the field." When he got to where the other rangers were standing, he saw that Hunter, Blake, Dustin, and Tori were all smiling at him, and Dani was almost giggling. He stopped. "What? What are you all smiling about?"

They laughed and stepped away, revealing Shane sitting in Cam's normal spot with something in his lap. Cam looked closer, seeing it was a ninja suit like theirs, but instead of the rangers' colors it was green with the samurai star on it. Cam's eyes widened and he broke into a grin. "Wow, where did that-?"

Shane smiled and stepped forward. "If you're going to be part of the team, you gotta have the gear."

Cam beamed, holding up his ninja suit to his body. He looked to where his girlfriend stood. She grinned. "I may or may not have had input on the design." He put his arm around her, hugging her gently.

"It takes a powerful man to choose his own destiny," his father said, also smiling. "Congratulations. No father could be prouder of his son."

The six rangers smiled, laughed, high fived, and clapped the seventh addition on the back. It felt right.


End file.
